AN EXAMINATION of VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK by Vana Babic

Home , Australian Fashion Week, Berlin Fashion Week, Boston Fashion Week, Copenhagen Fashion Week, Dominique Sirop, Fall 2008 fashion weeks

AN EXAMINATION OF VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK

Vana Babic Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, European Studies, University of British Columbia, 2005

PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

In the Faculty of Business Administration

All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately.

Approval

Name: Vana Babic

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Title of Project: An Examination of Vancouver Fashion Week

Supervisory Committee:

______Dr. Michael Parent Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Faculty of Business Administration

______Dr. Neil Abramson Second Reader Associate Professor of International Strategy Faculty of Business Administration

Date Approved: ______

Abstract

This study proposes a close examination of Vancouver Fashion Week, a biannual event held in Vancouver, showcasing local and international talent. It is one of the many

Fashion Weeks held globally. Vancouver Fashion Week can be classified in the tertiary market in terms of coverage and designers showcased. The goal of these fashion shows is to connect buyers, including but not limited to boutiques, department stores and retail shops, with designers. Another goal is to bring media awareness to future trends in fashion.

The paper will begin with an introduction to Fashion Weeks around the world and will be followed by an industry analysis. Lastly, there is a close examination of

Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) itself, identification of the weak areas of VFW and recommendations for future shows.

Keywords: VFW: Vancouver Fashion Week (Subject of Study); Big Four: refers to the four big Fashion Weeks in the World held in New York, London, Milan and Paris.

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Executive Summary

Vancouver Fashion Week was founded by Jamal Abdourahman in 2001. He founded Vancouver Fashion Week, from here on referred to as VFW, after his experience working for Fashion Weeks in Milan Italy, and Paris France. VFW is currently running two shows per year and despite some success the organization faces a myriad of problems unless addressed could jeopardize the future of the organization.

Problems with VFW:

- Lack of Budget: there is a very small budget for VFW. As a result of this they

look for services to be offered for free or in exchange for advertising space.

o DJ‟s were hired for free

o Set was designed for free

o There was no accountant for VFW

- Lack of sponsors: there is high sponsor turnover and no big-ticket sponsors that

contribute large amounts of cash to the show. This past season the largest sponsor

was the BC Cosmetology Association, for $15,000.

- Labour is based on volunteers: there are no employees for the organization, and

therefore VFW suffers from high turnover and volunteer dissatisfaction.

- Reputational effects and stakeholder relations: Includes venues that work with

VFW who are dissatisfied with management and the state of the venue after

completion of events. As a result some people are reluctant to work with VFW.

This negative reputation can severely affect the organization.

- Transfer of knowledge is non-existent. There are no lists of suppliers, vendors

or practices in place. Every new volunteer is given a task but with little guidance.

There is a lot of pressure to meet tight deadlines but there is no direction given.

Recommendations:

- Attracting large scale sponsors for funding of show. An accountant should be

hired to keep checks and balances of show expenses and revenue.

- Hiring a key team that guides incoming volunteers and knows the core operations

of VFW.

- Documenting procedures and lists of vendors etc. This should include procedures

on contacting sponsors, designers, etc. It should also include templates for all

communication from VFW to stakeholders. Lists compiling all previous

designers, design agencies, venues, etc should be made available for incoming

volunteers.

- Working on reputational effects through PR and the key team that handles all

relations.

Dedication

Personally, a big dedication goes to my mom who was always encouraging of my studies, and for beaming with pride just when I needed her to. Also to my second parents my aunt and uncle (Teta and Tetak) for being there for so many years. Lastly, to my friends who understood that I needed to bail on our plans to do school work, and for taking me out when I wanted to forget about school.

Acknowledgements

This thesis encompasses a year of hard work, and a dream that has been alive for over a decade. I have many people to thank for their support both in my personal life and in academia. First the academics: thanks to my Professor Michael Parent, for to the point feedback, a good sense of humour and for humouring me while I was making him read about fashion. To the Associate Dean Bukszar for being an inspiration to get into the

MBA program in the first place. Thanks to Lisa Siew for being the first to give me the good news that I got in to the program, and being a great help along the way. Klara

Sinclair has been a wonderful person to lean on and ask career advice from, and Michelle helped in making a great resume. Also a big thank you to my professors this year I have learned a lot from all of you.

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Table of Contents

Approval ...... ii Abstract ...... iii Executive Summary ...... iv Dedication ...... vi Acknowledgements ...... vii Table of Contents ...... viii List of Figures ...... x List of Tables ...... xi 1: Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Global Fashion Weeks, and Vancouver Fashion Week ...... 1 1.2 Purpose and Organization of Paper ...... 2 2: Fashion Weeks and Vancouver Fashion Week ...... 4 2.1 History of Fashion Weeks ...... 4 2.2 Goals and Successes of Fashion Weeks ...... 8 2.3 Vancouver Fashion Week ...... 14 2.3.1 History ...... 14 2.3.2 Raison d‟être ...... 20 2.3.3 Organizational Structure ...... 20 2.3.4 Stakeholders ...... 21 2.3.5 Participants ...... 26 2.3.6 Financials ...... 26 2.3.7 Current Strategy ...... 27 2.3.8 Product Strategy: ...... 28 2.3.9 Research and Development Expenses ...... 29 2.3.10 Structure ...... 29 2.3.11 Decision Making ...... 31 2.3.12 Manufacturing ...... 31 2.3.13 Labour ...... 32 2.3.14 Risk Profile ...... 33 2.3.15 Capital Structure ...... 33 3: Industry Analysis ...... 36 3.1 Introduction ...... 36 3.2 Five Forces: Industry Level Analysis ...... 36 3.2.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers (Medium-High) ...... 37 3.2.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Medium-High) ...... 37 3.2.3 Availability of Substitutes (Low-Medium) ...... 41 3.2.4 Industry Competitors and Intensity of Rivalry (High) ...... 44 3.2.5 New Entrants (Low) ...... 46

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3.3 Key Success Factors: Industry Level Analysis ...... 47 3.4 Five Forces: Vancouver Fashion Week Level Analysis ...... 50 3.4.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers (Low) ...... 50 3.4.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Low-Medium) ...... 51 3.4.3 Substitutes (High) ...... 52 3.4.4 Industry Competitors / Rivalry (High) ...... 53 3.4.5 New Entrants (Medium) ...... 54 3.5 Key Success Factors: Vancouver Fashion Week Level of Analysis ...... 56 4: Internal Analysis ...... 63 4.1.1 Management Preferences ...... 63 4.1.2 Organization ...... 64 4.1.3 Resources ...... 65 4.1.4 Strategy ...... 66 4.2 Conclusion ...... 66 5: Recommended Strategy ...... 67 5.1 Possible course of action ...... 67 5.2 Evaluation of Strategy ...... 71 5.3 Strategic Grid Revisited ...... 73 5.3.1 Product Strategy ...... 73 5.3.2 R & D Expenses ...... 74 5.3.3 Structure ...... 75 5.3.4 Decision Making ...... 79 5.3.5 Labor ...... 79 5.3.6 Marketing ...... 80 5.3.7 Risk Profile ...... 82 5.3.8 Capital Structure ...... 82 5.4 Other Recommendations ...... 86 6: Conclusion ...... 89 Appendices ...... 90 Appendix A – Cities with Fashion Weeks ...... 91 Appendix B – Events Managed by IMG ...... 101 Bibliography...... 103

List of Figures

Figure 1 - Pro-forma Statement of Earnings ...... 27 Figure 2 - Organizational Structure ...... 76 Figure 3 - Budget Forecast ...... 83 Figure 4 - Pro-forma Statement of Earnings ...... 85

List of Tables

Table 1 - Vancouver Fashion Week March 2009 ...... 20 Table 2 - Vancouver Fashion Week and International Fashion Weeks KSF’s ...... 57 Table 3 – Crisis Curve ...... 71 Table 4 – Key Success Factors Revisited ...... 73 Table 5 - Vancouver Fashion Week and Organization ...... 78 Table 6 – International Fashion Weeks ...... 100

1: Introduction

1.1 Global Fashion Weeks, and Vancouver Fashion Week

In 1993, the first Fashion Week had models strut their stuff on the catwalks of

New York. Founded by the Council of Fashion Designers of America the event has been a must attend amongst celebrities, fashionistas, designers and media. Produced by 7th on

Sixth the show was acquired by IMG, a lifestyle and sports marketing management firm, in 2001. This biannual event takes place in Bryant Park on 42nd and Sixth streets. The tented event takes place on an 8-acre park, wherein the individual venues can range up to

12,000 square feet. This includes a backstage area, a runway, seating for guests, lighting and sound.1 Herein designers show off their collections. The New York shows are currently sponsored by Mercedes-Benz who also sponsors the Miami Fashion Week,

Swim, and the Berlin Fashion Week. New York Fashion Week is considered one of the four “big ones” that take place globally and therefore, have the highest attendance and media coverage. The three others take place in London, Milan and Paris. Each of these weeks allows fashion designers or “houses” to display their latest collections in runway shows. The events also allow buyers to examine the latest trends and make appropriate arrangements to stock their stores with merchandise. January through March designers showcase their autumn and winter collections and September through November the spring/summer collections are shown. Fashion Weeks take place approximately six

1 http://fashion.about.com/od/fashionweeks/p/nyfashionweek.htm

months prior to the actual season, giving ample time for stores to stock their shelves with upcoming trends, and incorporate them into their retail marketing. Most importantly,

Fashion Weeks let the industry know what's "in" and what's "out" for the season.

Since the creation of the first Fashion Week in New York, the popularity of these events has grown, and cities have realized the benefits of hosting such events. To date the amount of Fashion Weeks held per year exceeds 90.

1.2 Purpose and Organization of Paper

The year 2008 marked the start of a worldwide recession. Initially fuelled by crumbling financial institutions and the steep decline in the stock market, the reverberations of this recession affected all industries. These industries included restaurants, automotive and clothing retailers. In respect to this last group, there were stores that declared bankruptcy such as Linens and Things. Other large merchants such as

Macy‟s closed down many of their stores. Yet despite this recession the Luxury Goods industry exceeds sales of $212 billion per year.2 People are interested in fashion; this can be evidenced by shows such as What Not to Wear, on-line Style Winners and Losers by

MSN, and of course Fashion Week coverage. Fashion Weeks are important trend indicators for retailers and influence their decisions in selecting merchandise they will carry in their stores. As mentioned, the trends are forecasted six months in advance and the retailers need to prepare their stores adequately. In addition to the above factors,

Fashion Weeks are a source of revenue for the cities that host them; this includes the clubs that throw the after-parties, the hotels that accommodate guests, and the shopping that occurs around these events.

2 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123413532486761389.html

Examination of these Fashion Weeks has not occurred in academia. In fact, these

Fashion Weeks have been largely ignored, despite the amount of commerce generated by them. This paper, will examine the history of these Fashion Weeks, including the opinions for what makes a good one. The latter half of this paper will focus on the local

Vancouver Fashion Week, and will dissect the problems within the organization and suggest a strategy for change that might allow this event to succeed in the long-run.

2: Fashion Weeks and Vancouver Fashion Week

2.1 History of Fashion Weeks

Fashion Week shows are invitation-only. Attendees include socialites, celebrities, journalists, editors, and buyers. Each fashion designer is responsible for his or her own guest list, and the journalists covering the event must seek accreditation prior to the event.3 For a designer, a Fashion Week is an excellent opportunity to highlight their upcoming collections. Each Fashion Week specifies an amount that must be showcased

(for instance an eight-piece minimum) and this varies by Week. Overall, these shows employ theatrics such as loud music, changing lights or entire acts. Recently at the “x- rated” Fall Fashion show, Jean Paul Gaultier had one of his favourite models Coco Rocha in a mud fight with French Actress Boyana Peniche.4 The onus is on the press to cover these events for their respective blogs, magazines, newspapers and television programs to inform the general public about upcoming fashion trends.

While it is the “big four” that are the most popular and publicized events of the

Fashion World there are other Fashion Weeks that are also attractive and create spectacles that draw spectators, media and big business to the event. Copenhagen has a

Fairy Tale vibe and it is a social event with drinking before and after the shows5 Criticism by Jacob Brown is that they should make the lines (the collections) better, they should

3 ibid 4 http://watch.fashiontelevision.com/collections/seasons/collectionsspring-summer- 09/clip110036#clip182556 5 http://watch.fashiontelevision.com/collections/seasons/collectionsspring-summer- 09/clip110036#clip119211

make it more of a press show and not so much a sales show. On the other end of the spectrum Mark Townsend argues that it is a business and that people are coming to buy the pieces, and business is being created. Fashion is Denmark‟s fourth largest export and as such needs to thrive. Lotte Freddie (a journalist) warns, “It is a business…if there is nothing created that is interesting enough you‟re going to die.”6 One example of

Copenhagen Fashion Week‟s creativity is that they held one of the shows at the

Copenhagen Zoo at the “Old Elephant House” and had spectators sit behind cages while the show went on. They also held shows at a porcelain factory and a military barracks.7

Sao Paulo had its 25th edition and showcased 50 collections with swimwear being the most popular. A surprise appearance at the Cia Maritima Show8 by Karolina

Kurkova, (voted Sexiest Woman in the World in 2008 by E!) caused some controversy when the model was dubbed too fat by the local media.

While some Fashion Weeks exist purely for the fashion and the media and buyers one example of a charitable must attend event is the Vienna Life Ball. The Ball has raised funds for HIV/AIDS charities for seventeen years and is considered to be “the art side of fashion.” Attendance at the ball has been up to 40,000 and millions tune in to the live

6 http://watch.fashiontelevision.com/collections/seasons/collectionsspring-summer- 09/clip110036#clip119211 7http://watch.fashiontelevision.com/collections/seasons/collectionsspring-summer- 09/clip110036#clip182556 8 http://watch.fashiontelevision.com/collections/seasons/collectionsspring-summer- 09/clip110036#clip99459

broadcasts to watch speakers such as Bill Clinton take the stage. Here the fashion show is extravagant and includes showcases by Vivienne Westwood and Agent Provocateur. 9

In terms of production value, commerce and attendance the most popular shows are managed by the entertainment company IMG. As previously mentioned, IMG promotes the New York Fashion Week and twenty-one other Fashion Weeks globally. It is the industry leader in Fashion and Entertainment, ensuring that the production levels of the Fashion Weeks that it is affiliated with are top quality in terms of production, commerce and coverage. Fashion Weeks with the highest production value, the most elaborate shows and the best after-parties are professionally managed and staged. These

Fashion Weeks usually have large-scale sponsors such as Mercedes-Benz, LG and

MasterCard. IMG and Mercedes Benz have closely partnered to make New York Fashion

Week a success. Since IMG manages some of the most exciting and well-known Fashion

Weeks in the world it is important to get an understanding of the company itself. IMG describes its company on the „about us‟ section of their website:

“IMG is the world's premier and most diversified sports, entertainment and media company. We partner with the world's leading marketers and media networks to help them grow their businesses through our event properties, media production and distribution, talent brands, sponsorship consulting, brand licensing, sponsorship sales and other services. From emerging leadership in areas like digital media, licensing and entertainment programming, to our long-standing strength in sports, fashion and traditional media, IMG is committed to providing business-building solutions. Our partners include many of the world's most

9 http://watch.fashiontelevision.com/collections/seasons/collectionsspring-summer- 09/clip110036#clip182554

famous brands, media outlets, sports governing bodies, national and local governments, athletes, entertainers, models and fashion designers.”10

As a talent agency, they also have an excellent roster of actors and models that can be utilized for large-scale events. They state that their areas of expertise include the following areas:

 Media production and distribution across multiple platforms

 Event creation, management and sponsorship sales

 Client representation and brand management

 Sponsorship and media consulting

 Global sponsorship and media sales

 Consumer products licensing

 Athlete training11

They are however the leader of the Fashion Industry in terms of production and this is clearly stated on their website:

“From the world's most prestigious fashion shows to world-famous models and behind-the-scenes media coverage, IMG is a driving force in the global fashion business. We partner with leading designers and marketers interested in reaching fashion-centric consumers through our industry-leading fashion properties and unmatched expertise.

IMG leadership in the fashion industry includes:

10 http://www.imgworld.com/about/default.sps

11 http://www.imgworld.com/about/default.sps

 World's largest producer of fashion events

 Top international modelling agency

 Industry-leading event publications for fashion insiders

 Fashion-related media programming”12

This expertise includes event management, a roster of high profile clients and a talented team that makes IMG Fashion Weeks spectacular. It is important to create an ambiance so that the audience at the show wants to be part of to see the spectacle in front of them. Talented employees make sure that all of the events run smoothly from lighting to sound to decoration. Lastly by having an elite roster of talent they can be invited to events and give it the “Star Power”. For a complete list of the IMG sponsored Fashion

Events please refer to Appendix 2.

2.2 Goals and Successes of Fashion Weeks

This Fashion Week industry has grown rapidly and now Fashion Weeks have sprung up around the globe, some specializing in a specific category such as Miami

Fashion Week in swimwear, or Portland Oregon‟s eco-friendly Fashion Week. To date there are 90 Fashion Weeks globally. (Please refer to Appendix 1 for a complete list).

These Fashion Weeks are registered and protected internationally and are usually supported by the World Trade Organization and the American Department of Commerce.

Logos and copywriting material are closely monitored to make sure that no one takes advantage of them when running a fashion show. Charity is also a big part of Fashion

12 http://www.imgworld.com/entertainment/fashion/default.sps

Weeks and their logos are also included in the events. This is to show that they give back to the community. It also prevents fraudulent scams.

Spectacle and promotion are the keys to making a successful fashion week, and in

Italy Ente Moda Italia is a great organizer of the events, their success has been recognized as far away as Hong Kong as witnessed recently when they attended the Hong Kong

Fashion Week.

“Jointly organized by Ente Moda Italia (EMI) of Italy and Igedo Company of Germany, January's showcase at the Convention and Exhibition Centre was bigger than ever, with seventy exhibitors from Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Holland and Portugal vying for the attentions of thousands of Asian buyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, China, Korea and Singapore. EMI promotes Italian fashion from the country's twin-capitals of style, Florence and Milan, while Igedo does the same for Germany from its base in Düsseldorf. Together they are a powerful force in the promotion of European fashion in Asia.” 13

The countries that went to this Fashion Week went as part of a two million dollar grant distributed by the European Commission for the third year as part of its “Europe

Selection”. This is in recognition that Hong Kong is a major distributor and marketer in the world. This event is an opportunity for fashion wares to be purchased and sold in

Hong Kong and other nearby cities. As noted by the above quote there were several

European countries that showcased at this Fashion Week, and the event itself was jointly coordinated by two European companies. This coordination was done to facilitate commerce between Asia and Europe. The European Commission contributed a sum of $2 million to this event because it recognizes the value of the commerce that comes from

13 http://www.ust.hk/~webeu/sg978.htm

these fashion shows. In addition, this quote illustrates that when a show is big and well- done countries half a world away will come to be part of it, and have the financial backing of their respective governments.

Thus far the history of Fashion Weeks has been discussed and some particularly exciting ones have been highlighted, yet the world is in the midst of a global recession and luxury goods and events are likely to be cut down on. This begs the question “in a global recession how are these events doing?” A quote by Michael Kors describes it best:

“Everyone‟s moaning and groaning the economy the economy! Well honestly our business is better than ever because pretty and happy is what people want.”14 It seems he is correct in that statement. In a study of recent purchasing patterns, consumers were still buying luxury goods. The retail market was the hardest hit by the economy following the crash of 2008 and true, some realtors did file for bankruptcy (Macy‟s did not file for bankruptcy but did close down some of its stores.) These stores responded by reducing the prices of some of their luxury goods, and the flagship store Saks Fifth Avenue in New

York found itself extremely busy.

“When Saks Fifth Avenue slashed prices by 70% on designer clothes before the holiday season even began, shoppers stampeded.”It was like the running of the bulls," says Kathryn Finney, who says she was knocked to the floor in New York's flagship store by someone lunging for a pair of $535 Manolo Blahnik shoes going for $160.”15

14 http://watch.fashiontelevision.com/collections/seasons/collectionsspring-summer- 09/clip110036#clip102889

15 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123413532486761389.html

This market is in fact still healthy despite the recession as Faded Luster (Source:

Bain & Company) forecasts that the worldwide luxury goods market will still achieve between $212 to $220 billion in sales for 2009.16

These discounts are unconventional and as stated:

“Saks's deep, mid-November markdowns were the first tug on a thread that's now unravelling long-established rules of the luxury-goods industry. The changes are bankrupting some firms, toppling longstanding agreements on pricing and distribution, and destroying the very air of exclusivity that designers are trying to sell.”17

Moreover, although this price-cutting may impact smaller boutiques or force them to close their doors if they cannot keep up, it forced the Houses to do some price reduction of their own.

“But Saks's surprise discounting forced companies and brands that have their own retail operations -- including Prada SpA, PPR SA's Bottega Veneta and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA's Marc Jacobs unit, which had opened hundreds of their own stores in the past decade -- to follow suit or forfeit sales.”18

Therefore, these houses were still selling maybe at a discount but still selling merchandise in the midst of a global recession. Some houses were considering changing their strategy, as previously mentioned Fashion Weeks create big business and allow retailers to negotiate deals for merchandise to be stocked in their own shelves. Such discounting may have hurt the relationship with two designers (Marc Jacobs and Derek

Lam are notable)

16 ibid 17 ibid 18 ibid

“At New York Fashion Week, which starts Friday, some designers might offer retailers only their "pre-fall" collection, but not what they actually show on the runways, which would appear only in their own shops, according to one buyer for 19 a Saks rival.”

As for the Fashion Weeks themselves, they were not immune to the global crisis.

For example in Australia, the Rosemont Australian Fashion Week cut down on the spectacle.

“The organizers are opting for smaller venues, better quality and easier buyer access due to drop in show numbers from 2008's event and designers' reluctance to book the expensive venues in 2009. The company IMG Fashion Asia Pacific has downsized the spring-summer 2009-2010 edition of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week from its traditional three show tents to two.”20

Although this event was scaled back in terms of size, sales numbers were not necessarily dropping.

“But although buyer numbers were down in March, according to AEC, some exhibitors reported 25 to 30 percent sales lifts on last year's orders. The buying volume was actually very high those who just come to look didn't come, but those who came were the serious business people," said AEC managing director Marie Kinsella. "We've reduced the size of the September show. Companies are taking less space, they are looking at more cost-effective ways to show. We are aiming at 559 exhibitors [down from 628 in 2008] and are currently tracking at 75 percent [capacity]. We'd normally be a bit higher, but we are finding that companies are leaving their bookings very late."21

19 ibid 20 Quality Over Quantity. By: Huntington, Patty. WWD: Women's Wear Daily, 5/20/2009, Vol. 197 Issue 106, p9B-1NULL, 1p, 2 bw; (AN 41227383) 21 ibid

Yet other Fashion Weeks around the world are still keeping up the spectacle and running a great show. The famous Sao Paulo Fashion Week (most famous for its swimsuit collection amongst its fifty shows) is actually growing in size of space and attendance.

“Luminosidade, organizer of São Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW), taking control of Brazil's two fashion weeks, SPFW and Fashion Rio, has planned format changes for both events. For January 2010 SPFW, Luminosidade plans to set up a buyers' salon and to accommodate a growing number of designers, exhibitors and sponsors at the Fashion Rio show, it will be moved to a new 868,000-square-foot event space location.”22

This Fashion Week is a lucrative one for the economy bringing in $652 million.

“Luminosidade expects stronger sales at Fashion Rio and stable sales at the next SPFW. Last June, Fashion Rio's domestic buyers placed 443 million reais, or $276 million at current exchange, in orders and foreigners bought $16.3 million worth of fashion. Last year, the off-site showrooms of SPFW designers and those of stylists without runway shows brought in 1.5 billion reais, or $652 million.”23

Overall, in order to be memorable, a Fashion Week needs to be unique, to have spectacle and interesting collections, and it should bring in commerce to the city.

Designer‟s collections need to be purchased, and media uses these events to spot trends for the upcoming seasons. Lastly, the guests that attend need to be impressed, and they need to talk about the event. Fashion Weeks have been around for less than two decades yet they have created billions of dollars in commerce. These fashion weeks facilitate a great deal of commerce. Unfortunately, no figures are available for the collective amount of commerce generated.

22 Kepp, Michael; Fotosite, Agencia. WWD: Women's Wear Daily, 5/20/2009, Vol. 197 Issue 106, p13B-1NULL, 1p, 1 bw; (AN 41227387) 23 ibid

2.3 Vancouver Fashion Week

2.3.1 History

In 2001, Jamal Abdourahman founded the Vancouver Fashion Week. He was inspired to bring a cultural event to Vancouver after working for the Paris Fashion Week, and the Milan Fashion Week. He thought that he could bring together designers, buyers and media for a cultural event never before seen on the West Coast. This inaugural event occurred at Canada Place in Vancouver, British Columbia in the fall of 2001. It was a large-scale event including massive projections, big name designers all taking place at

Canada Place. One major setback was limited attendance and lack of ticket sales. Overall the event lost $500,000. This loss was felt personally by Jamal, he viewed it as an unequivocal disaster and this loss has influenced the direction of the company ever since.

The quality of the productions of Vancouver Fashion Week have not been impressive and do not command the large media attention nor the attendance to sustain the company nine years after its first show.

This year the show was advertised as:

“For 15 seasons, Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) has been an attraction for Canadian and International designers from around the world, delivering a multicultural and diverse fashion experience. Recognized as a global platform for designers and sponsors, VFW has become the West coast‟s most prestigious event that brings together a 15,000(+) captive audiences.

Now celebrating its ninth year, VFW has established itself as a highly successful and widely recognized event providing a forum to nurture and celebrate the fashion industry in Vancouver. In recent years, VFW has featured internationally acclaimed designers such as Versace, Parasuco, Rocawear, Ecko and Anna Sui in

addition to emerging designers, such as Patricia Fieldwalker, David Dickson and Sanjana Jon.

In the upcoming season, VFW is proud to focus on areas of fashion which we know are presently a significant part of the industry. These areas include street wear, eco-friendly fashions, and snowboard fashions.”

However, the result of this season‟s shows did not live up to the hype created by the above statement. Despite the event having a City Proclamation, the Mayor, Gregor

Robertson did not know about Vancouver Fashion Week when approached for the

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. The local media did not cover the event, and it was not written about even in small publications such as 24 Hours or Metro‟s style or “out and about” sections. In fact, when speaking to most people in Vancouver they did not even know the event has existed despite its running for nine years.

This year‟s opening gala and the four days of shows went like this:

Date/Event Description Wednesday, Arriving at the opening of the Opening Gala it March 25, was evident that the Manager of Leone 2009: was obviously upset about the Opening organization or lack of thereof for the Gala event. He was flustered that there was not enough alcohol provided to serve the guests, also there was a shortage of glasses that were supposed to be rented. He had to use the glasses stockpiled at the store and there was a shortage in glassware for all of the guests. He complained with dealing with several people from VFW who gave him the run- around, and therefore he had to organize most of the event himself. There was a team delegated by the producer of VFW to take care of the event who were not sufficiently organized to ensure the event ran well. Other examples of disorganization were for the media there was not enough press passes, and some

people who were not invited were allowed in. There were many people at the store and security had to keep an eye on them. Most of the security was staff of Leone who were called that day and asked to come in because there was a shortage of people to watch the different areas. Disorganization was definitely an issue and at the end of the night the Manager was upset at the event and stated that he would not work with Jamal again. This was the first indication of poor reputational capital held by the Producer.

Thursday Started out with a panicked staff, the venue had March 26, no equipment; no electricians on hand 2009: Day 1 and the only thing that was inside the venue were chairs. The organizers on hand had no idea where the runway was supposed to go. In addition, basic housekeeping such as toilet paper was not provided in the washrooms. The phones were ringing with orders, like “pick up towels!”, or questions such as “where are the electricians?” and “do we have a DJ?” In this mess the producer who everyone looked to for guidance was unreachable. Either he was not picking up his phone, or it was dead. At two pm (two hours prior to the show commencing) the Operations Manager and one of the sponsors ran over to the nearby Salvation Army and asked for all the power cord extensions the store had afterwards frantically putting them in place and taping them down for photographers and lights. At four in the afternoon an excited crowd started coming in, but excitement turned to disgruntlement as the show commenced a full two hours behind schedule. There was no bar set up, and the DJ came and started to set up one hour after the show was scheduled to begin. When additional supplies were called in by the staff to a

supply/events company they advised that the credit card of the producer was declined and they would not be able to bring in the supplies. When the show did begin the music was not completed and the tracks were played for multiple designers. A last minute MC was brought on board, and that was the artist that had canvases displayed in the venue. He was given a list of names of designers and told to improvise the show. This two hour delay set back the designer Malakai who was supposed to be dressing the models for a second fashion event in conjunction with the performance of Aliqua (a female vocal group) at the Centre of Performing Arts. Malakai finished the show at Storeyum and quickly stuffed their suitcases to go to the next venue. They did not even know the directions for the next show. Meanwhile the music act was freaking out because the fashion show had not started and they were scheduled to perform at 8:00pm sharp. Overall this second fashion show lasted six minutes because of the delay. The group was unhappy and the designer was flustered.

Friday On this second day the staff was learning from March 28, the mistakes of its first day. The staff 2009: Day 2 arrived early (with plenty of toilet paper in tow) and started to set up. On this day the lighting was finally fixed and the bar was opened. One of Jamal‟s friends was recruited to be the bartender, and the Operations Manager handled the cash. The operations manager had no bartending experience but stepped into the role. The MC for the night was advised that the bar opened and she made the announcement to a packed house. The MC was actually the Designer liaison who had recruited the designers to showcase. The bar opened with much difficulty, and it was the Back of House

manager (the person managing the models, clothing and backstage activities) who was recruited to go to a convenience and liquor store for supplies. She was recruited because she was one of the few people there with a car. Her budget was $80 dollars and the Producer promised to reimburse additional expenses. She was frustrated by the lack of funds and that she had to pay for additional liquor. This night four toilets in the washroom went out of order adding to the headaches.

Saturday With the night‟s plumbing problems, the odour March inside Storeyum was quite foul. The 29,2009: Plumbers came in and fixed the four Day 3 toilets early in the morning (two more would break before the end of the night) but there was no ventilation in the bathrooms and as a result air-fresheners and candles had to be brought in. On this day the night‟s previous bartender assumed his duties and the bar was profitable that night. The shows did run on schedule. The staff was quite exhausted, as they were asked to come in each day and set up for the shows and clean up at the end of the night. There was no cleaning staff in the budget. This resulted in some staff being there for ten hours a day. This led to a breakdown in relations especially in higher management. (Shallom and Jamal were at odds). Lack of communication on a massive scale was the problem here. No one knew what was going on and everything was put on last minute on whoever was available.

Sunday With the final day of shows, things ran relatively March 29, on schedule. This time the shows were 2009: Day 4 only one hour behind. However, all of the / Closing volunteers who had been promised entry Gala to the closing gala were told that they would have to pay to attend. It was the MC / Designer Coordinator who

negotiated with the Gala organizer that the volunteers attend at half price if they helped with set-up for the gala. The volunteers were disheartened that they put in so much work and were asked to pay for an event they were all looking forward to. Speculation arose whether this was a cost saving measure by the Producer, or a lack of negotiations between the gala organizer and VFW. As preparations began Pence (the event‟s organizer) brought in furniture from the Urban Barn, and pine trees, and an impressive stage. These props would have been very useful for VFW although for this negotiations did not ensue. Security for this event was handled by VFW and there was a major breakdown in their cohesiveness and ability. As people lined up at the Storeyum venue, the security guards were not letting people in and the crowds became agitated. The four security guards were panicked and told event organizers to only open one door. After one hour and much pestering by event organizers to let people in, they finally figured out how to admit people in a somewhat organized way by opening one door to ticketholders, and another to people on the guest list. As a result many were agitated from being kept outside for a long time, and celebrities were kept waiting outside as well (including Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants Jesse Williams, and Star Trek‟s Chris Hemsworth). Eventually the venue became packed and the music was good, and people overall had a good time. The difference between the gala and the shows was that there was organization with the closing gala. A professional landscaping company was hired for the foliage. Urban Barn was retained as a sponsor and provided the furnishings for the VIP rooms. Professional bartenders

were hired and they were able to serve drinks accordingly. In addition, one cleaning person was hired to ensure the bathrooms were usable and sanitary at all times. The Dance party was a big hit especially when KOS took to the turn-tables. With sightings of Rob Pattinson of Twilight the organizers and models were happy. Jamal was stoked with this production and stated “next year we‟re gonna throw a big party at the end and charge $150 a ticket!” This is another example of desire for profit coupled with unrealistic expectations.

Table 1 - Vancouver Fashion Week March 2009

2.3.2 Raison d’être

One of the reasons that Jamal claims that he founded Vancouver Fashion Week is to bring high quality fashion to Vancouver. He also wanted Vancouver to become recognized in the international community for its contributions to fashion, and after working with the Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks, he thought he could be the man to produce them. In addition it is strongly suspected (but not known) that VFW is also a source of income and publicity for Jamal.

2.3.3 Organizational Structure

Currently Jamal is at the head of the VFW organization and he owns and controls the vision for what should happen. He hires all of the volunteers and groups them.

However, he also reassigns volunteers, delegates tasks to more than one volunteer and as

a result tasks go by the wayside. Although it can be viewed as a centralized organization, the lack of checks and balances within Vancouver Fashion Week is viewed by some volunteers as a detriment to productivity.

As can be inferred, the above recap the actual Fashion Week faced a myriad of problems. Most of which were ignored by the producer. In fact, he was synonymous with a conductor that recruited inexperienced musicians a night before the show and demanded for them to play a song. Lack of experience by the staff, and lack of direction were prevalent throughout the preparation, and the execution of the actual Fashion Week.

Those with experience and the potential to improve the Vancouver Fashion Week are either too disillusioned with the Organization or the producer. These volunteers often quit. Others are not asked to return because of a difference of opinion.

2.3.4 Stakeholders

The key stakeholders for this organization are the designers that showcase their products, the buyers that purchase these collections and the volunteers that work for the organization.

The media are also key stakeholders for they cover Fashion Weeks throughout the world through blogs, television spots (including interviews, segments, and news items) and reports. Currently, Vancouver Fashion Week receives most of its coverage from blogs by independent or small-scale media writers. This position may be threatened next year if Jamal only approves large-scale publications, as he is threatening to do; this is a problem as it is the small-scale bloggers that are currently the voice for VFW. They help publicize the event. Large-scale media such as Fashion File, (Canada‟s own Fashion

Reporting Program) has not covered the event to date. There was excitement built prior to the events this year because Women‟s Wear Daily was supposed to cover VFW shows, but they did not attend (an explanation was not given by Jamal for their absence.) In addition, the local newspapers have not provided extensive coverage of the shows either.

Thus, it is the small-scale magazines, and bloggers that are the key media stakeholders for this organization. These small-scale media reporters have a more vested interest in the organization. Many of these reporters are vying for more publicity and credentials. They want more readership as well, so for them covering the events of Fashion Week is a privilege and something interesting to report to their readers. Meanwhile large-scale media such as Canwest / Global have an interest in covering the larger scale Fashion

Weeks such as Toronto or New York. In fact, sponsorship of these events oftentimes includes the media, and for other Fashion Weeks media sponsorship dollars are a key to the Week‟s success. This is not the case for Vancouver Fashion Week.

Designers present at Vancouver Fashion Week to gain exposure in the fashion community, becoming a more recognizable brand and ultimately finding someone to purchase their collections. Many designers that come to VFW are beginning their fashion careers and use the Fashion Week events as a tool to gain some brand recognition and to generate interest in their collections. Since Vancouver Fashion Week has one of the lowest requirements in terms of the amount of clothing a designer must showcase, it is much easier for these novice designers to display their creations. Also, boutiques have the opportunity to show their clothing at this event and this allows the audience members attending the shows to gain knowledge and ultimately visit these boutiques.

The buyers at the events look to purchase collections for their boutiques.

Vancouver has many small boutiques centred around the Gastown area of Vancouver, and on 4th Avenue in Kitsilano, along Granville, with the high-end boutiques being above

Broadway. These boutiques carry smaller selections of unique and designer clothing. By purchasing these clothes at Vancouver Fashion Week, buyers can directly negotiate with the designers showcasing. To date only boutiques that have expressed interest in purchasing clothes, for department stores have not attended the events. This may be a good thing for the designers, because as previously mentioned most of these designers are small-scale producers that would probably struggle with producing the volume required by department store for purchase.

Lastly, the volunteers that constitute the labour of the organization are usually looking for more experience in the fashion world. Many have just recently graduated from a design or make up school (while some are still students.) These Fashion Week volunteers use the experience gained to enhance their resumes. They also use it as a stepping ground to other organizations that require event management or marketing skills. One good thing about the VFW organization is that it allows candidates to try their hand at different areas, thus if a volunteer would like more experience in marketing they can apply for that area and have the opportunity to work in marketing for a few months.

The ability to work in different departments without prior experience allows volunteers to work in an area they are interested in; whereas they would not have had that opportunity prior to joining VFW.

Externally, The City of Vancouver also has an interest in this event. The City has issued a proclamation for Vancouver Fashion Week as a cultural event. In Vancouver,

there are a lot of cultural events and VFW is one of many. As such, VFW was proclaimed by the City but the event was not really publicized by the City nor attended by the City‟s officials. Yet The City of Vancouver is still a stakeholder for the event. In the past, the

City has rented out venues to the Organization. Furthermore, there have to be permits obtained for parking, hours of operations and venue capacity issued by the City. In addition, Vancouver has its own police force that may become involved with the

Organization due to liquor approvals, crowd controls and supervisory activities.

Of these stakeholders the designers and media need to be paid the most attention to. The designers essentially carry the show in terms of spectacle and revenue. Their entry fees constitute a significant portion of the revenue generated by the Organization. In addition, designers are crucial for the shows because the event centres on showcasing their designs. If these designers have negative experiences with VFW they will not come back to display their collections again, and they may tell their other colleagues not to get involved either. Vancouver has a very small fashion community and any negative publicity creates a serious backlash. Since this year most of the designers were new designers and there were no big-ticket shows, one has to wonder at the treatment of these large-scale designers, for they are not attending VFW shows anymore. This can be noted by the previous large-scale designers that showcased such as Rocawear and Ecko that drew crowds to VFW but have not worked with the organization since. These designers do have bargaining power since they are solicited by the volunteers to hold a show, and they should be able to choose their own models, music and other necessities in order to create a good show. Thus, the organization needs to treat them well and be more accommodating to their needs. Also Vancouver Fashion Week needs to be more

organized to ensure that the shows run smoothly. Lastly, more networking opportunities should be given for the designers, media and buyers. Currently, the designers have to pay to attend a networking event; this fee should be waved and networking should ensue to ensure the happiness of all parties involved.

One other stakeholder that needs to be paid more attention to is the media. As was mentioned, Jamal is considering not approving press passes for bloggers, this would be a mistake because these bloggers usually have their own unique followers and they increase in size as time goes on. Also these bloggers usually have additional careers and contacts in the fashion world. This can be illustrated by Shallom Johnson, who created a small blog, Stylefinds, and this blog grew large enough that she was granted a pass for

New York Fashion Week, the leader in the industry. Thus, by cultivating good relations with smaller bloggers VFW will benefit for years to come. There should be more efforts made at attracting larger media such as The Vancouver Sun and The Province both held by Canwest to cover the event. Also, the national publication, the Globe and Mail has a style section that could cover VFW. As for local television they should be invited to the shows because it would provide publicity for the event on such segments as Breakfast

Television on Citytv or one of the community shows on Shaw‟s Channel 4. These media should be contacted by the volunteers well ahead of time, and they should have passes sent to them to ensure event coverage. It would also be good if the producers of these shows were contacted to see if designers can be featured on some of the segments or to have a spokesperson from VFW as a guest.

2.3.5 Participants

Those that attend these events are usually friends and family of organizers and exhibitors. Volunteers are also included in this group since they work hard to make the event a success and then watch the shows. There are only a few tickets sold to the general public, partially due to a lack of awareness on their part. In addition, many tickets are distributed amongst the producer‟s friends and the organizers families. Participants also include models cast for the show. The Organization utilizes free models recruited through

Craig‟s List and by posts on Facebook groups. The models are not usually represented by an agency, with the exception of a select few that were represented this year by JK

Models, a recently formed modelling agency looking for exposure and the opportunity to recruit more talent.

2.3.6 Financials

Overall, the organization has no budget (or at least no budget the volunteers are aware of.) One has to exist, considering there is an $875 entry fee for each designer. This year there were twenty-five designers, which amounts to $21,875 in entry fee revenue. In addition, there was a Key Sponsor, the Cosmetology Industry Association of British

Columbia, which contributed $15,000. Although most of the tickets were given away for the shows, some were sold at $25 dollars per ticket. Putting a conservative estimate of at least $36,000 in total revenue generated by the organization. Rent for Storeyum, the event‟s venue, was $1000 per day for five days. However, Jamal would not authorize any expenses in terms of interior designers or props, rentals, nor any operations. This leads one to assume that most of the money generated was pocketed. Two areas that a lack of funding was most evident in were supplies, and venue/space operations. So in summary,

based on the best available information, VFW‟s income statement for the past season is as follows:

Revenue $ Sales 31,875.00 $31,875 Sponsorships 15,000 Total Revenue 46,875

Expenses Cost of Goods Sold 5,000 Administrative Expenses 0 Amortization Expense 0 Interest Expense 0 Other expenses 1,000 Total Expenses 6,000

Earnings Before Income Tax 40,875 Income Tax Expense 5,518 $ Net Earnings $35,357.00

Figure 1 - Pro-forma Statement of Earnings

2.3.7 Current Strategy

The diagram below, by Bukszar, illustrates the nine factors that make up an organization‟s strategy these include: product strategy, research and development expenses, structure, decision-making, manufacturing, labour, marketing risk profile and capital structure. Using these tools, one can determine if an organization is utilizing the differentiation strategy that relies on high quality products that set it apart from its competitors. These products come at an adequate cost. Traditionally, Mercedes is a company that utilizes differentiation strategy, while a company like KIA would be a cost-

based producer. Here the products created are of low cost and adequate quality and they usually model the product after an innovator in the industry. The diagram below shows

Vancouver Fashion Week‟s strategy.

Generic Strategy Cost Based Differentiation Low cost/Adequate Quality High Quality/Adequate Cost

Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Product Strategy Rapid Innovator Follower R&D Expenses Low R&D High R&D Structure Centralized Decentralized Decision- Low Autonomy Making Autonomy Manufacturing Economies Economies of of Scale Scope/Flexible Labour Mass Highly Production Skilled/Flexible Marketing Comparative High Cost Push Pioneering/Pull Risk Profile Low-Risk High-Risk

Capital Structure Leveraged Conservative

Table 2. 1 – Vancouver fashion Week’s Current Strategy

2.3.8 Product Strategy:

Vancouver Fashion Week can be viewed as a Cost Based (Low cost /adequate quality) producer. It strives to get as many free services as possible. The Producer is cost sensitive and does not like to spend money.

VFW can be classified as a follower in the industry. The VFW shows are held in

March for the fall / winter season. This is about a month after the New York Fashion

Week. The designers showcasing at VFW are those that have been contacted by volunteers. There are only a small number of independent designers coming to the show on their own initiative. Essentially, there is no strategy here because the organization

accepts all entrants, and they solicit any and all to showcase. The designers are solicited for a couple of months, and once entries are closed the show arranges days to accommodate the designers by arranging theme days. Thus, this past season there were

Shanghai Nights to accommodate the Asian designers, an Eco-Friendly day to accommodate some of the more environmentally conservative designers. These events were not planned in advance, they were created once the designers had signed.

2.3.9 Research and Development Expenses

There are currently no research and development expenses in the organization. There is little planning done on behalf of the organization in terms of what they would like to accomplish.

2.3.10 Structure

The organization‟s structure is haphazard. The key decisions are made by Jamal and there is very little guidance on how to complete tasks. There are teams that are in place that are supposed to take on tasks respective to their departments but there is very little cohesion amongst the team. Turnover is high as well and as such, there is always someone new assigned and someone else who leaves a team. As the employees leave the organization their knowledge is taken with them. There are no standardized procedures or manuals to direct current or future employees of the organization.

Volunteers are assigned tasks and given little guidance. One example of this was when the Operations Manager was asked to draw up a contract from scratch for one of their sponsors. There was no template, and no guidance for what was in essence a legal document, typically drawn up by a legal professional. This lack of structure and high

expectations in tight deadlines led many to leave the organization with a very low opinion of Fashion Week. Those that stayed complained of being overworked and using their own money for company expenses. Many volunteers are not invited to take part in the next season‟s shows despite their hard work at the previous Vancouver Fashion Week . High turnover of staff contributes to a poor reputation of the organization. Those that know of the organization are likely to give bad reviews of it. One of the Fashion Week photographers said he would never do it again (work the event) because of a lack of professionalism. An advertising executive stated that the organization has no budget and no draw for audiences so it is a wonder it is still going on. The high turnover and lack of experience precedes the organization when discussing opportunities with anyone in the

Vancouver community. Amongst the fashion community, which is small and interconnected in Vancouver it is known that the VFW volunteers are just that, volunteers and that no one on the staff is paid or with the organization for any length of time. This affects the calibre of designers and sponsors that are willing to work with the event.

Lack of experience, and high turnover, also contributes to the lack of knowledge transfer. There are no templates in the organization for sponsorship packages, press communication or for any other applications. Each individual sends their own communication to potential sponsors, designers and other stakeholders. The only element of cohesion is that all volunteers are assigned a Vancouver Fashion Week email address

([email protected]). From their Vancouver Fashion Week email accounts their communication is unmonitored, and they can say anything to any stakeholder. Also, multiple persons would deal with a stakeholder without communicating amongst themselves. The Leone store manager complained with dealing with dozens of volunteers

who did nothing, and in the end caused him to do all the work. There is no information on prior events listed anywhere within the organization. In addition, there are no procedures in place and a lax structure. The Producer makes all the decisions; for instance a designer was hired to design the space for Fashion Week and was subsequently fired by Jamal, without a mention to the operations team. When asked a few days before the show about the lack of designer Jamal stated he would handle it! As evidenced by the

Day One re-cap the event was not handled effectively.

2.3.11 Decision Making

Decision-making is guided by Jamal‟s vision. He wants things done exactly his way, however he gives very little guidance on how to proceed with the tasks. For instance, he wanted an interior designer to design the space for the fashion shows, but he did not give a single name to look up for the operations team, and they had to search and contact everyone. Jamal then wanted to make the decision on who to hire. Thus, there is a weird hybrid of decision making for Jamal‟s word is law on what he wants but the volunteers have to use their own skills and improvisation to accomplish tasks.

2.3.12 Manufacturing

The company is centred around an event and does not manufacture any goods per se but it does operate under the mass production principle where the goal is to have as many designers as possible to showcase and to have as much revenue as possible derived from them. In addition, the goals are to produce everything at no cost, in exchange for advertising space during the shows.

2.3.13 Labour

Labour consists of volunteers because it is low cost. With this low cost labour force, there is a varying degree of experience. Some volunteers have sound fashion and business knowledge while others are very young and bring few skills to the Organization.

Staff is hired because of the time commitments they are willing to give to the organization not necessarily because of their experience. If one is willing to put the time in they are given preferential treatment over someone who has the capacity to finish tasks. In terms of tasks delegated, staff are asked to do as many things as possible at one time. Overall, the atmosphere is high pressure and lack of cohesion.

Recruitment of staff by the organization commenced in December (just under the four months prior to the show) and announcements were made through social media such as Facebook, advertising in education institution‟s career websites, and by word of mouth. Applicants are encouraged to apply for the position they would like and go through an interview process usually with Jamal, the producer. From there the individual meets the team they will be working with. Usually on Saturdays there is a group meeting containing all the members of one department discussing VFW progress and the “to do” tasks. In addition, there is an organization meeting wherein all of the staff of VFW meet to see how they are doing. Over the course of the week, the individuals perform their tasks on their own using their own resources. The Company does not provide a workspace for the tasks to be completed, therefore; they stress the need to attend the meetings in order for coordination to ensue.

One of the major shortfalls, and cause of anxiety is that all staff is expected to be reached on their phone within two hours of a phone call being placed by the Producer,

and are expected to complete tasks with short deadlines. One common thing a volunteer hears is “I need it by tomorrow”. In this high pressure environment where one is expected to complete many tasks and there is a lack of guidance and cohesion the major staff complaint is that their labour is exploited. In the course of interviews with former volunteers, the issues of unreasonable demands on their time, the expectation to drop everything else (including paying jobs, schoolwork, and social obligations) for

Vancouver Fashion Week and the out of pocket expenses that were not reimbursed were the biggest complaints. The staff of this Organization consists of unpaid volunteers who want more experience in the fashion industry, this is one of the only reasons why some have returned to do the upcoming spring/summer show. Oftentimes volunteers are asked to complete tasks within unrealistic timeframes. One such example is creating an entire website for VFW within one week, and the first web designer was unable to complete it in that time so Jamal dismissed her and recruited another developer.

2.3.14 Risk Profile

The organization is debt free, thereby in financial terms would make it very low risk. It is not a particularly lucrative organization, and it is the only one in Vancouver that puts on a fashion week. However, it has not thrived in the environment it has merely limped around these past nine years yet it does not indicate that it will fold in the near future. The organization can thus be classified as low risk.

2.3.15 Capital Structure

The organization is owned by one person and there are no shareholders. To date it is believed that his organization has run profitably with the exception of its first year. It

appears that the organization has no debt. However, financial information was not disclosed by Jamal so it is difficult to ascertain what the financial shape of the organization is and to classify its capital structure.

By examining the nine factors identified in this strategic grid, it is evident that

Vancouver Fashion Week utilizes many of the low cost strategies to run the organization.

This organization sustains itself by virtue of it being the only Fashion Week in

Vancouver. In effect, it has a monopoly in the domestic market and that is why it is able to attract talent and staff. This organization is cost conscious and it absolutely can be classified as a low-cost organization. This is juxtaposed with the successful Fashion

Weeks in the industry for they utilize the differentiation strategy for their success. As mentioned in the first chapter these Fashion Weeks have high production value and an air of exclusivity to them. They are funded by large-scale sponsors and as such have the money to produce high quality shows. The fashions displayed at these shows are meant to stimulate demand in the market. The consumers targeted to purchase these commodities will pay a high price because they perceive a high value in the product, one that surpasses the standard products on the market. Thus by utilizing the differentiation strategy the

Fashion Weeks in conjunction with the fashion industry strive to differentiate their products and command a higher price for their goods. This is opposed to VFW whose vision is out of sync with other Fashion Weeks for VFW focuses on spending as little as possible on their shows and expect people to still be interested in attending. This is perhaps the root of their problem; Fashion Weeks are synonymous with a high production value around the globe, and when a consumer attends a VFW show and sees how poorly it is done, and how disorganized the event is, the consumer becomes disappointed and

does not attend again. The products people typically expect to see at these shows are high value and high cost, and VFW does not display such products. They showcase any designers that are willing to pay the entry fees and usually these designers are new to the industry and do not have exceptional products. Their goods are considered inferior in this industry. The low cost strategy employed by Vancouver Fashion Week is out of line with the high value and high cost productions that characterize the differentiation strategy elsewhere in the industry.

3: Industry Analysis

3.1 Introduction

In terms of the Fashion Industry, Fashion Weeks play a big part in forecasting trends for the coming seasons. This Fashion Week industry has not been examined in great detail by academics, thus in this chapter there will be an analysis of the industry through the application of Michael Porter‟s Five Forces. In addition some of the Key

Success Factors of the industry will be identified. After these concepts have been applied to the industry they will also be applied to Vancouver Fashion Week specifically.

3.2 Five Forces: Industry Level Analysis

Porter came up with the concept of Five Forces in 1980 and this uses five elements/forces to study an industry. This analysis was created to answer the questions of: what are the critical issues for customers, suppliers, substitutes & new entrants? What is the nature of the industry Rivalry? These five forces include:

1) Bargaining Power of Buyers

2) Suppliers: Bargaining Power of Suppliers

3) Availability of Substitutes

4) Industry Competitors, Intensity of Rivalry

5) New Entrants

3.2.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers (Medium-High)

In terms of the industry analysis the critical issues for customers/buyers are that there are adequate collections showing, styles that can be bought and sold within their respective stores. These buyers need to be able to negotiate deals with Houses and designers in order to purchase collections showcased. They then stock their shelves with trends that are identified for the upcoming seasons. Since department and individual stores need to order their merchandise months in advance, they need to identify the trends properly. Trends need to be identified so that the stores will have will have desired merchandise in stock. Since fashion changes quickly it is important to sell the correct quantity. If a trend emerges, many consumers want to buy it (example of skinny jeans in

2007, and leggings in 2008 wherein everyone was wearing them) and stores that did not carry the merchandise suffered from loss of customers and profits. Likewise, if a store orders too much of something that does not sell they lose money that is tied up in inventory (clothing goods) that do not sell, and thus they affect their margins because they have to sell the overstock goods at deep discounts, or sometimes write it off entirely if the goods do not sell. Thus, the buyers must be very careful about which collections they purchase, for the luxury market comprises of $212-220 billion in sales. Since designers depend on the retailers for their income and it is the retailers who get to decide which merchandise they will carry, the buyer‟s bargaining power is medium-high.

3.2.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Medium-High)

Critical issues for suppliers, those that are actually supplying the collections on display at Fashion Weeks, are having the best venue to showcase their collections, and connecting with buyers who will buy these collections. Depending on the show, a

designer needs to showcase at least eight complete outfits, and the collections can range to a much higher number than that; sometimes a designer may even have multiple showings. For a designer, months go into preparing for an event like this, first sketching out concepts for designs, then creating them, and picking out which items to showcase.

Next, the designer chooses which shows to display at, and arranges to attend. Expenses incurred include flights, accommodations, entrance fees, and model fees if the designer brings their own models. With all the time and effort invested in a showing, the designers want a good return on that investment. They want to make sure they secure a deal with a purchaser who will carry their collections in a store. Commerce is the underlying drive of a Fashion Week, and the spectacle is just for show. Suppliers do have bargaining power when it comes to Fashion Weeks. In terms of the “Big Four” (New York, London, Milan and Paris) usually the Houses display their Haute Couture collections with pieces that are not necessarily classified as “ready to wear” these pieces if they are bought by individuals can range in the tens of thousands of dollars.

“The manual labour needed to produce a garment this way takes between 100-150 hours for a suit and up to 1000 hours for an embellished evening dress. The evening dress might have thousands of hand sewn beads probably done by the expert and famous Parisian embroidery and beading firm of Lesage, founded in 1922 by Albert Lesage.”24

The Houses currently that qualify for the Haute Couture labels include:

 Adeline André

24 http://www.fashion-era.com/haute_couture.htm#High Fashion - High Cost Of Haute Couture

 Giorgio Armani

 Chanel

 Christian Dior

 Christian Lacroix

 Emanuel Ungaro

 Jean Paul Gaultier

 Givenchy

 Elie Saab

 Dominique Sirop

 Franck Sorbier

 Jean-Louis Scherrer

 Valentino 25

The Chambre de commerce et d‟industrie de Paris has imposed strict guidelines for a dress to qualify as Haute Couture. The dress/House must:

 Be designed made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.

 Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.

 Each season, present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five

runs with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.26

25 http://www.haute-couture.net/2008/02/06/current-haute-couture-houses/#more-3

In Canadian Dollars, the cost for Haute Couture ranges from $18,000 for a blouse to nearly $100,000 for an evening dress.27 The bargaining power of these suppliers/designers can range from low to very high depending on their reputation and how much merchandise they have traditionally sold. The suppliers, therefore; have bargaining power related to their exclusivity. For instance, someone cannot go to the

Channel boutique, borrow a few pieces and showcase it in their Fashion Week, because these Houses have to maintain their exclusivity they must obtain permission from the company headquarters in order to showcase in any shows. Oftentimes they only showcase in the “Big Four.”

Overall suppliers have medium-to-high bargaining power when it comes to

Fashion Weeks. Established designers have high bargaining power for they have creative control over the collections they show, the models they choose and whether to appear at all in a show. Lesser known designers can have medium bargaining power for it is in their best interest to show their collections in a good Fashion Week, if they enter a large scale Fashion Week like the Big Four or Sao Paolo they may have less bargaining power than if they enter a smaller show like LA Fashion Week. New designers have the least bargaining power when it comes to showcasing their designs; they may compromise a lot in order to show their collection. For the large Fashion Weeks, the allotted amount of shows for new designers is limited thus there may be internal competition amongst the

26 http://www.haute-couture.net/2008/02/06/legalities-of-haute-couture/#more-4

27 http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi

new designers and they may be willing to do more then they want to just to display their collections.

3.2.3 Availability of Substitutes (Low-Medium)

A critical issue for substitutes is offering a show that people will attend that is high quality and not necessarily a Fashion Week per-se. As previously mentioned, the

Vienna Life Ball is a fundraising event, and not a fashion week. Yet it has an audience of

40,000 in attendance and millions watching their broadcast. Fashion is one aspect of the week, yet they manage to secure high profile designers like Vivienne Westwood. This

Ball centres entirely around a charity concept. Other substitutes include trade shows themselves, events where one could attend in order to mingle with other industry professionals. Some of these events include trade shows sponsored by large-scale production houses and associations. Invitations are extended to the domestic chambers of

Commerce, the Textile Industry, Clothing manufacturers, jewellery designers, cosmetic companies and diplomatic corporations concerned with commerce. Chain retailers and licensed stores generate the most sales at these events. These include American Apparel

Producers Network (AAPN), Messe Frankfurt, and ITMA.

American Apparel Producers‟ Network is an organization that connects members of the industry and creates tradeshows to showcase materials. It touts that the benefits of joining the organization include:

 “Get introduced to and enjoy direct access to top US retail, brand, manufacturing

and supply chain leaders

 Build personal relationships with the best, most highly networked executives in

the industry

 Benefit from on-going research of China, logistics, retail, Wal-Mart, branding,

marketing, technology and much more

 Gain strategic insights – learn from peers what information they use to shape their

strategies and success

 See firsthand leading edge supply chain business models and collaborative

technologies

 Attend exclusive AAPN executive forums at events like Material World, regional

meetings and global conferences

 Travel worldwide in AAPN delegations to South and Central America, the

Caribbean, Morocco, Asia, and more

 Be admitted to exclusive member networking events like the annual AAPN

Reception at Versace‟s in Miami Beach

 Exclusive right to author content on the industry resource 'apparelpedia'28”

They have tradeshows occurring in Miami Beach Convention Center on April 21-

23,2009 and also on September 30-October 2, 2009.

Messe Frankfurt organizes over 150 trade shows including Texworld USA described as

28 http://www.aapnetwork.net/Content/107.htm

“Texworld USA is the essential sourcing event in North America for apparel fabric buyers, R&D and Product Development Specialists, designers, merchandisers and overseas sourcing professionals. Meet with mills and manufacturers from Asia and around the world showcasing their collections for women‟s, men‟s and children‟s. Join us in New York City, July 14-16, 2009 at the Javits Convention Center! This dynamic tradeshow is in cooperation with Lenzing Fibers and is an expansion of their successful fabrics trade fair, Innovation Asia (formerly TENCEL New York Inc.).”29

International Exhibition of Textile Machinery (ITMA) is a convention that occurs every four years. This includes all types of machinery required for manufacturing and offers the opportunity for networking. It will be next held in 2011 in Barcelona and it claims that:

“ITMA 2011 will continue to be the global marketplace and networking industry

platform:

 A world-class, one-stop solutions showcase for the whole textile-making

process

 A place for gathering business intelligence and best practices

 A gathering of industry leaders for outstanding business and networking

opportunities

Organized by MP International Pte Ltd, ITMA 2011 will take place from 22 to 29

September 2011 at Fira de Barcelona Gran Via.”30

29 http://www.texworldusa.com/

30 http://www.itma.com/eventInfo1.html

These substitutions are not direct competitors to the Fashion Weeks around world. These are tailored to some of the same clientele that frequent Fashion Weeks but also to their own respective customers. It is also conceivable that those that are interested in the fashion scene may attend Fashion Weeks, trade shows and charity events. Thus, depending on the type of trade show or event and the scale of the show the bargaining power of these substitutes are low-to-medium.

3.2.4 Industry Competitors and Intensity of Rivalry (High)

Overall, this market is very saturated. There are 91 Fashion Weeks31 in the world, with four industry leaders: New York, London, Milan and Paris. All of the other 87

Fashion Weeks are competing against each other in order to attract talent, designers, media coverage and attendees. One of the key things for this industry is first mover advantage, New York is the pioneer and it kicks off the season, it has the most attendees and it is highly publicized. They are innovative and they were the first to combine live music with the catwalk by creating the event “Fashion Rocks” with musical acts performing during shows and this was innovative for the industry that usually used DJ‟s and musical tracks.

There is rivalry to some extent between the existing fashion weeks, because each competes to have the top talent showcase therein, to have a large number of buyers and to generate buzz about the event. Each has to be unique enough to attract talent to showcase at their event. There are categories that attendees will look for in terms of show and spectacle, these include but are not limited to: Best Editorial Front Row, Best Celebrity

31 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_Week

Following, Best Model Line-Up, Best Party, Best Soundtrack, Best Party and Best/Worst

Theme. 32 Here it is illustrated that people care about which designer has the most press and editorials and lastly who the celebrities care about, and if they are watching and wearing their designs. Also, the models that showcase the pieces are important. Those with the best music and best parties are judged, as is the overall theme. The running theme here is who has the best show! Where can people see and be seen, and where they can have the best time.

For some cities this is also a revenue generator, for instance Sao Paolo as a city depends on the Fashion Week therein to boost the local economy. It is one of the few

Fashion Weeks in South America and arguably, it is the most successful, there has to be a powerful enough draw to get people to fly down and attend the events. This is because the majority of Fashion Weeks are confined to Europe, North America and Asia.

Traditionally Europe and North America were the dominant Fashion Weeks, but Asia has come onto the radar in the last decade due to the involvement of local governments in encouraging the events. For instance, Japan is dedicated to the Tokyo Fashion Week and the DIET ministry continually promotes it. 33 The rivalry for these Fashion Weeks is high.

32 FN: Footwear News; 9/22/2008, Vol. 64 Issue 36, p23-1NULL, 1p 33 “The National Diet of Japan (国会 Kokkai?) is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councilors…The National Diet Building is located in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Japan

3.2.5 New Entrants (Low)

Critical issues for new entrants into this industry include visibility, credibility and capacity. If anyone enters this market they have to be able to produce a quality show, they have to secure venues, and designers and talent. The new entrant needs to ensure their event is publicized by the media so that the fashion community and general public are made aware of the event, and want to attend it. Any new entrant has to be viewed as credible by the fashion community, for the community is elitist and critical, if performance by the new entrant is unsatisfactory the fashion reporter/ designer / buyer etc. will not return. In order to compete one must make sure they have the capacity to put on a show, that the show is worth generating buzz and that there are plenty of designers, buyers and media in attendance.

However entrants on the third level (tertiary market) are likely, in essence any city that does not already have a fashion week could create one. Someone would just need to copy-write ( © ) a name for instance the “Kamloops Fashion Week” they would need to book designers to showcase at it, and have staff for the event, a venue could be rented out, or even done at a local community centre.

In sum, this analysis shows that the strongest force is the rivalry between the

Fashion Weeks, followed by the designers that showcase in those Fashion Weeks. There are so many Fashion Weeks globally that they nearly double the weeks in a calendar year.

The established Fashion Weeks namely the Big Four are secure in their titles, but the other Fashion Weeks are constantly fighting to remain competitive either by creating niche markets like Miami Swim Week, or Portland Oregon‟s Eco-Week or by partnering with large companies; LG Toronto recently announced when it agreed to be managed by

IMG. Buyers are another large force to consider in these Fashion Weeks, for they generate the commerce needed to sustain these events. The Substitute force is not as strong but it does offer an alternative to Fashion Weeks. Attention must be paid to the following aspects: many of the trade shows are well organized and allow a forum for networking by the fashion industry professionals. The charity shows also draw in the big crowd like the Fashion Weeks. The last force of New Entrants is not considered to be a large threat to the Fashion Week industry. The newcomers always have the biggest challenges in attracting designers, talent, media etc to their events. They need a few seasons to become established and recognized, and these weeks must be geographically spread out thus this presents a low threat to the current industry.

3.3 Key Success Factors: Industry Level Analysis

The above analysis examined the forces that make Fashion Weeks a success.

From here, one can identify Key Success Factors for successful Fashion Weeks, or better known as the critical issues that form competitive advantages for Fashion Weeks. These

Key Success Factors will be identified for their importance on a three point scale developed by Abramson 3 = Very Key, 2 = Key, and 1 = Less Key. The Very Key (3) is synonymous to very important and it is critical for the success of the organization; this criterion not being met jeopardizes the organization‟s position and puts it at risk for failure. The Key (2) criterion is important to the organization and be attained to keep the advantage the organization holds. The Less Key (1) criterion is not as crucial as the former two criteria but it is still important and the organization should strive for it only after meeting the Very Key and Key factors. These factors include:

 Show and Spectacle (Very Key 3)

o In order for a show to be well attended there needs to be a high production

value for these shows. The stage must be visible by all attendees and the

runways must be long and wide so that the collections are adequately

showcased. In addition, stage decorations such as screens projecting the

name of the designer, and the lighting add to the ambiance of the show.

Music is also key to generating excitement during the show. Lastly, some

designers choose to have a theme for their shows (Like the Gaultier X-

Rated show). An audience member must want to see these shows therefore

show and spectacle are Very Key to the success of a Fashion Week.

 High calibre designers and Houses showing their collections. (Very Key 3)

o There need to be recognizable designers that showcase their collections in

order to attract audiences and media to the show. These Houses are well

established and the general public cares about the collections that they put

out. Thus like with any large-scale event it is the names (in this case

Houses) that are the main attractions. There are also celebrity followings

of designers (for instance Victoria Beckham always attends a Marc Jacobs

show.) There is a correlation of the designs one might see and the

celebrities that would be spotted therein.

 Generation of commerce. (Very Key 3)

o This is Very Key because buyers at these events must purchase the

collections that the designers are highlighting. This is important for both

parties because designers get to be the trendsetters and generate their

income from their collections being purchased. As for the buyers

(merchants from department stores, boutiques etc) they have to anticipate

what kinds of trends will sell well in their stores and ensure they purchase

an adequate quantity to sell six months from the show date. As previously

mentioned Fashion Weeks predict trends two seasons in advance.

 Variety of Designers (Key 2)

o Depending on the location of the show, the variety of designers can be

key. For New York, there must be a large variety of designers, since many

designers, buyers, celebrities attend this event and a lot of different styles

must be represented. For Miami Swim Week the variety is not a pre-

requisite as long as there are enough swimsuits for the show. For Sao

Paulo, variety is an attraction, for they have 50 shows running in their

Fashion Week, ranging from swimsuit to eveningwear fashions.

 Celebrity attendance (Key 2)

o Celebrities add credibility to any event, and act as a draw for audiences.

Fashion Weeks give one the opportunity to see and be seen, if there are

many celebrities in attendance it is usually a good event that offers a lot of

exposure.

 Fun parties and attractions. (Key 2)

o After the shows are over the attendees like to mingle, network and party

together. Thus, fun parties are key for Fashion Weeks. They complement

the large-scale events, much like the after-parties for Oscars. Oscars are

the main event and everyone attends it, but the after-parties are the places

where the guests let loose have some drinks and dance. Much the same

can be said for the after parties for Fashion Weeks. If they did not exist,

the Fashion Week would be labelled as boring.

 New Designers Showcasing (Less Key 1)

o New Designers are not usually a big attraction for attendees with some

exceptions. For instance, when Michelle Obama wore a Jason Wu gown to

the inauguration of Barack Obama the general public wanted to know

more about the designer and wanted to see his collections. In general,

though New Designers are not big draws, but they are interesting to see

and may produce new followers of their collections once they showcase at

a Fashion Week.

3.4 Five Forces: Vancouver Fashion Week Level Analysis

Thus far this chapter has focused on identifying the five forces that influence an industry. In addition, Industry Key Success Factors have been identified. At this point

Michael Porter‟s five forces are again used as a tool for analysis for Vancouver Fashion

Week in order to make a comparison between the Organization and the Fashion Week industry.

3.4.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers (Low)

Currently the bargaining power of buyers is low because there are not many buyers invited to take part in Vancouver Fashion Week. These buyers are invited by the volunteers of the organization to attend the shows, however all of the other tasks required to organize the show take priority over inviting buyers. At the last Fashion Week the

designers themselves were asked to invite buyers they would like to work with as the organization was inviting only a few. As a result, there is not much commerce that occurs at these shows; there are several designers that display their collection, yet few buyers to purchase these collections. However if more merchants were to attend the event and engage in commerce the potential for bargaining power of buyers would increase to medium-high. The potential bargaining power of buyers is quite large as Holt Renfrew,

The Bay, Sears are all large merchants that are able to dictate prices for collections showed in the Fashion Week. These merchants do not currently attend the Fashion Week.

If there were to be a serious effort made by the VFW organization to invite these merchants they could facilitate more commerce. Vancouver also has a large number of boutiques that could negotiate prices with designers and the Organization in order to stock merchandise at their stores. However as there are not many buyers present at the

Vancouver Fashion Week events (as it relies on volunteers to contact these companies and invite them out). Thus this potential buyer power is not exercised and currently remains low in the organization.

3.4.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Low-Medium)

Volunteers contact all the suppliers (designers) who attend the shows, and at the last Fashion Week there were 25 suppliers including jewellery artists. These are usually all local designers looking to gain exposure and thus they sign up for Vancouver Fashion

Week. They are all small-scale producers, and they accept the price of entry for the show.

Unfortunately, of the designers that showcase in Vancouver Fashion Week, most have bad experiences and do not want to do the show again, this means the list of suppliers is dwindling. The previous exhibitors do not return for another season, and therefore the list

of designers usually consists of newcomers and names that are not recognizable to the general public. Usually new names do not draw in the crowds. The suppliers that do showcase are assigned models, they do not get to pick them, and they do not have to have a “ready collection” one that buyers can stock in their stores. In fact some designers just do this for promotion and do not have their collections available for purchase at all. The overall the bargaining power of suppliers is low-to-medium.

3.4.3 Substitutes (High)

Locally there are many events that Vancouverites can attend in order to see fashion and be seen. Each week there are restaurants that launch grand openings and these invite exclusive clients, have attractive wait staff and throw a big party. There are also charity benefits that attract crowds, and these include benefits, galas and fashion shows. In addition, there are a lot of design schools in Vancouver, each of who have their own showcase of designs. Lastly, those interested in fashion can take a look at http://www.vancouverfashionezine.com/magazineissue21/fashionevents.html for a list of coverage of events. One example of such a show is

“The Centre for Design and Communications at Kwantlen University College is presenting a series of events that will explore the connections between fields of design and communications: graphic design, fashion design, interior design, interdisciplinary design, print and on-line journalism. This will include student projects, workshops, movies, lectures, and discussions with prominent Vancouver designers.”34

34 http://www.clubzone.com/events/Vancouver/89550/Kwantlen-Design-and- Communicatio

Also during the pre-wedding season there are many trade shows that occur in

Vancouver, and a lot of these are centred on Bridal Fairs. Herein companies that provide services to weddings set up booths for display of their services. Usually all of these bridal fairs showcase the upcoming fashion trends in bridal-wear and these shows are usually a hit with the crowds. This paragraph has focused on fashion related entertainment that could detract crowds from going to Vancouver Fashion Week, but one should also note that other types of large-scale events also offer an alternative to Vancouver Fashion

Week. First and foremost Vancouver is a hockey town and they love the Vancouver

Canucks, the stadiums are always full of eager fans that spend their money on these games. Usually all large performers include Vancouver in their tour stops including,

Britney Spears, U2, Coldplay and others, and this spectacle and entertainment is an alternative to seeing the fashion shows. Vancouver also sponsors a lot of festivals including the Vancouver Film Festival and Vancouver Jazz Festival. These draw large crowds of movie and music lovers. They are popular festivals that have municipal support in terms of promotion and funding. There are a myriad of cultural events all over the city. These range from Greek Festival on Boundary Road, to the biannual closure of

Commercial Drive to traffic and the festival that ensues there. In general, there is a lot to do in this city, and the population expects the events they attend be entertaining and organized. Thus, the amounts of substitutes to Vancouver Fashion Week are very high.

3.4.4 Industry Competitors / Rivalry (High)

The quote “there‟s a fashion week somewhere” rings true when one examines how many Fashion Weeks there are globally. There are 91 Fashion Weeks and 52 weeks in a calendar year, and some of these weeks do not have anything showcasing. There are

multiple Fashion Week events that overlap in the span of a week. With this amount of choice a consumer only attends events that are well known and exciting. Overall, the competition is fierce to have the best show New York, London, Paris and Milan are the

“big four” Fashion Weeks and run four weeks in a row starting in mid-February. These are the Fashion Weeks that are most frequently publicized and visited. Other Fashion

Weeks need to have an attraction in order to draw international media coverage and attract international designers and buyers. Vancouver Fashion Week is not one of these shows that attracts international coverage and attendance. Toronto is one of these Weeks.

Unfortunately, Jamal has a habitual practice of scheduling his Fashion Week close to that of Toronto. This year the shows run concurrently. With large-scale sponsors and attractions, the LG Fashion Week is likely to outshine Vancouver Fashion Week and detract the media and designers from attending VFW. Those shows that are not considered big are not even publicized and Vancouver Fashion Week falls into this category, even though the media was in town this past season for the Junos and could have attended Vancouver Fashion Week for free they were not in attendance to cover it.

VFW is not innovative enough to attract a lot of designers or media coverage. Overall, in this industry VFW is a very small organization and is subject to intense rivalry by much better produced Fashion Weeks.

3.4.5 New Entrants (Medium)

The name Vancouver Fashion Week, trademarked by Jamal, is unavailable for purchase. In 2004 a competitor did appear, BC Fashion Week, which had a much higher production value, and strict demands for designers (they had to have a collection ready. If a buyer wanted one they would be able to supply it, and enter with a specified number of

looks) however this event has recently undergone financial difficulty and is about

$150,000 in debt. The interesting thing is that the event was created by two former volunteers who worked for Jamal. A third Fashion Week would be an unlikely entrant in the market since these Fashion Weeks have not proven to be an attraction for the city.

Although smaller scale events such as the charity and trade shows discussed in the substitution section can be viewed as direct competition for the organization. One should keep in mind that a Fashion Week type of event is unlikely to come to Vancouver but large-scale trade shows are likely to spring up. Already there are Bridal Fairs that draw huge crowds to them, so if a large-scale Fashion trade show was created for Vancouver it would likely draw large crowds and overshadow Vancouver Fashion Week. Thus, the entry of new competitors is medium.

In sum while international Fashion Weeks are not particularly concerned by new entrants and substitutions for Vancouver Fashion Week these two forces present a problem. When BC Fashion Week began with their shows they utilized the same labour pool as Jamal and used the same concepts albeit with a higher production value. The tradeshows in Vancouver are numerous and they generate big business and as such are a great substitute to the relatively unknown Vancouver Fashion Week. Moreover

Vancouver residents like to see fashion shows and thus there are numerous charity shows that include a fashion component and the design schools in Vancouver put on their own fashion shows. Indeed the largest force that presents a threat to Vancouver Fashion Week is industry and competition. Toronto Fashion Week is considered the premier Fashion

Week in Canada and it runs just around the time that VFW does. This in effect means that

LG Toronto attracts the best designers, the media attention and the buzz associated with

Fashion Weeks. LA, Portland and Seattle all have their own Fashion Weeks and they are within the relative proximity of Vancouver and this could lead to a competition for designers that they can attract to their respective shows.

Two forces that have remained relatively dormant but have the power to exercise much higher bargaining power are the suppliers and especially the designers. The designers currently pay the fee to show their collections and if they are unhappy they do not return. However if a large enough number of these designers organized to ban together and boycott the show until there was better production value and more buyers at the show they could effectively cripple the organization. Currently VFW does not showcase large Houses or very many recognizable names, so the draw for the shows are the new designers and several shows that can be seen with one ticket. (One can see on average four shows for the price of a $25 ticket). Thus if they do not have a pool of new designers to choose from the show would be in trouble. In addition, more buyers need to attend the show to generate commerce. They are currently a very low force that affects the organization mostly because there are not many of them in attendance at the show.

However, there is the potential for large department stores to come in and negotiate purchases of merchandise, as well as more boutiques that would be interested in the small collections.

3.5 Key Success Factors: Vancouver Fashion Week Level of Analysis

By using the same measure of Key Success Factors as was utilized earlier in the analysis one can compare the Industry with Vancouver Fashion Week.

Key Success Industry Vancouver Fashion Factors Week

Show and Very Key Less Key Spectacle

High calibre Very Key Less Key designers and Houses Showcasing Collection

Generating Very Key Less Key Commerce

Designer Variety Key Key

Celebrity Key Less Key Attendance

Fun Parties and Key Very Key Attractions

New Designer Less Key Very Key Showcases

Table 2 - Vancouver Fashion Week and International Fashion Weeks KSF’s

As can be seen above, the Industry has a large amount of key success factors that

Vancouver Fashion Week does not employ. VFW does not have the high production value of shows, and they pretty much ignore the commerce generated by buyers.

However, VFW does stand out in two respects, that being that it has a lot of Fun Parties and New Designers. These two factors can be part of VFW‟s future strategies. In essence,

Vancouver could corner the market on new designers, and ensure that there are fun after- parties that occur. It can also collaborate with the city of Vancouver to give attendees of

VFW shows discounts to local attractions such as The Vancouver Aquarium.

 Show and Spectacle (Less Key, 1)

o As was mentioned in the industry analysis chapter a Very Key Success

Factor is high production value. An audience member must want to attend

these shows therefore show and spectacle are Very Key to the success of a

Fashion Week. This spectacle is missing at VFW. All stage design is

orchestrated using free services, the set up crew consists of volunteers, and

the organization works with the resources it has on hand. This year the

Storeyum was used for a venue and the owner allowed for modification of

the space in terms of decoration. A suggestion was made to paint the back

walls near the stage for a $150 fee and this was refused by Jamal. Thus for

him, and effectively the organization, there is very little emphasis on

production. This is contrary to an audience member‟s vision for a show;

for they expect that there will be good music, exciting collections and a

stage wherein one can see the collection.

 High calibre designers and Houses showing their collections. (Less Key 1)

o Whereas high profile designers are Very Key for Fashion Weeks around

the world these designers do not showcase at Vancouver Fashion Week.

They are less key for this organization.

 Generation of commerce. (Less Key 1)

o In the Fashion Week industry generation of commerce is Very Key

because buyers at these events must purchase the collections that the

designers are highlighting. As previously mentioned Fashion Weeks

predict trends two seasons in advance. At VFW shows commerce is not a

priority. Volunteers contact potential buyers and invite them to the shows

after they have completed the other tasks required to put on a show

(signed up designers, invited media, etc.) This year most of the designers

were told to invite the buyers they were interested in working with since

the organization was not going to be responsible for that.

 Variety of Designers (Key 2)

o Depending on the location of the show, the variety of designers can be

Key. New York Fashion Week, must have a large variety for many

designers, buyers, celebrities attend the event. For Vancouver the variety

of designers is Key as well but for a different reason. Herein the variety of

designers signed to the show occurs because these are new designers

looking for exposure. As new designers comprise the majority of the

organization‟s supply chain VFW signs as many designers as they can for

shows, and from there create themes around designers‟ collections. This

year they created Shanghai nights because there were several Asian

designers that wished to display their collections. While this was

perceived by the audience to give variety to the show, it was actually done

once the designers were signed and a theme was conceived.

 Celebrity attendance ( Less Key 1)

o Celebrities add credibility to any event, and act as a draw for audiences.

Fashion Weeks give one the opportunity to see and be seen, thus if there

are many celebrities in attendance it is usually a good event that offers a

lot of exposure. Vancouver Fashion Week does not make a grand effort at

inviting these celebrities. Vancouver is dubbed „Hollywood North‟

because of all the TV shows and movies that are shot here. In addition,

there are several celebrities that take residence here including Scarlet

Johansen, Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, these are all

A-List celebrities that would bring a lot of popularity to the show. None of

these celebrities are contacted by Vancouver Fashion Week. Talent

agencies are not contacted to invite their clientele either despite there

being an abundance of talent agencies in Vancouver.

 Fun parties and attractions. (Very Key 3)

o After the shows are over the attendees like to mingle, network and party

together. Thus, fun parties are Key for Fashion Weeks. This being Very

Key was realized by Vancouver Fashion Week this year after the massive

success of the Closing Gala. This was the most popular event of the season

and quickly sold out. This was in fact more popular than all of the shows

that had gone on this week, and Jamal decided that such a big party would

be a staple for all of VFW‟s shows from henceforth.

 New Designers Showcasing (Very Key 3)

Whereas new designers are not very important for the industry of Fashion

Weeks, new designers are the lifeblood for Vancouver Fashion Week, as

these new designers are the ones that show their collections at the shows.

New designers are the ones that make twenty shows possible for the

organization, and without them VFW would not be able to put on a show.

This message is not conveyed to the new designers and they still believe it

is a privilege to showcase at VFW, where in reality VFW would accept

any designer with the funds to pay the entry fee. While the designers have

a potential higher bargaining power, currently their power is medium .

As can be inferred by the above criteria there is almost a direct reversal for the key factors in the industry and for Vancouver Fashion Week. The industry has created a success formula that encompasses high calibre designers putting on a spectacular show and having buyers to purchase these collections. With these three factors the shows become popular, recognized globally and are well attended. Vancouver Fashion Week on the other hand completely disregards these three success factors and instead chooses to focus on new designers and having parties (two factors that are not as important to global

Fashion Weeks.) This maybe has become a part of their unintentional strategy. New designers are the only ones that showcase their collections at VFW. In addition, this year

VFW learned that a big party draws crowds. These two factors may be what they implement in future shows, but it came as a result of their low cost strategy. New designers are cheap and plentiful, and the Closing Gala came out of a partnership with

Graham Pence and the Juno‟s and therefore VFW did not have to spend a lot of money but it got the credit. Such a partnership can occur once more, or the VFW organization could rent a space and hire a DJ / band to create a big party that the population of

Vancouver would like to attend.

In the Industry Key Success Factors analysis show and spectacle, high calibre designers and the generation of commerce were Very Key. This is not the case with

Vancouver Fashion Week, these three factors are the least important to the organization.

This stems from the fact that they run their organization through a low cost strategy and therefore do not spend money on producing quality shows with high production values and spectacle. As such high calibre designers do not show their collection at VFW, this means these suppliers are not a force within the organization. Whereas the designers have a high bargaining power within the industry they choose not exercise this power at this small local show and thus the bargaining force of these suppliers is irrelevant. Lastly, the third very key factor for the industry, the generation of commerce, is less key in this organization. Herein commerce is not really a priority. The revenue for the organization comes from the designer entry fees, sponsorship money and ticket sales, and generating revenue is the key priority for the producer, Jamal. Generating commerce between the designers that show their collections at his show and the buyers that are in attendance is not really a priority for him. Thus, the collective bargaining power between buyers and suppliers is not very high in this organization. The Very Key factors for VFW include the parties and the new designers. The new designers are the ones that showcase their collections, and essentially provide the attractions for the biannual shows. The fun parties that occur each evening after the shows are big attractions for the organization, because people want to let loose and dance afterwards. This year the closing gala was quickly sold out and had line-ups around the block, and this was the most successful event to date. It is now part of the organization‟s strategy to incorporate a large party at the end of the week.

4: Internal Analysis

In this chapter there is a shift in focus from an industry analysis to an internal analysis of Vancouver Fashion Week. One analysis tool that is used is the Diamond framework. By examining the Diamond framework to understand the preferences and processes of the organization one is better understands the organization‟s current position. The Diamond framework also created by Michael Porter considers Management

Preferences, the Organization of the firm, and the Resources of the firm that combine to form the Strategy. This framework is important for analysis because it looks at four crucial components of the organization. It is necessary to apply this framework prior to determining a strategy for the organization. Management preferences dictate what an organization does, and while someone my create the best strategy for the organization if the management does not approve of it, this strategy will not be adopted. This can be said for the organization and resources of the firm since both limit what an organization can do and all three (management preferences, organization and resources) shape the strategy of the organization. Thus, this framework must be examined before any strategic direction is formed.

4.1.1 Management Preferences

Management preferences centre on the producer, Jamal. He exercises executive control on all decisions made within the organization, and he directs all staff on what to do. He has a vision for how the shows should be run and wants things his way; evidenced by a conflict between Jamal and Graham Pence over the Closing Gala, which was almost

cancelled because Jamal was not getting enough input. Graham Pence has his own business wherein he works as a promoter, a producer and music advisor. As such, he was hired by the Juno committee to help coordinate one of the parties after the awards ceremony. Both Pence and Jamal had their own vision of what the Closing Gala should look like and they butted heads on many of the issues ranging from: decoration, profit sharing, and whether or not there should be a fashion show component.

Jamal delegates tasks to his volunteers and expects them to be able to complete them very quickly and with high quality. He expects the best labour, but expects it for free. Overall, there is strong control by one senior member, tasks are re-assigned between members and thus there is little consistency about who actually controls a task.

This is an issue expressed by stakeholders; multiple volunteers contacted them and that the organization was disorganized. Finally, little input by the volunteers is encouraged.

Unfortunately, all of these aspects ensure that nothing really runs smoothly. One person cannot complete a multitude of tasks and be looked to for guidance, there are just too many things to do and it is unrealistic for one person to do everything. A lot of necessary tasks fall through the cracks. Although he will likely not like it, Jamal needs to exercise less control within the organization and delegate tasks to trusted members of the organization that he should make the Managers.

4.1.2 Organization

This organization relies on volunteer labour, and experiences high turnover. A complaint by stakeholders is that they never dealt with one person but would rather deal with multiple members of the organization on a particular issue, then would find the issue was not resolved to their liking. For instance the manager of Leone, (a high end boutique

named after its owner was the venue host of the Vancouver Fashion Week Opening

Gala), spoke to several volunteers and was assured that there would be enough wine for the Opening Gala. An hour before the event began this manager was told there was a shortage of vine and that there were no glasses brought by VFW. The manager had to resolve the issue himself by using the store‟s own glasses and liquor supplies.

Interestingly enough the communication with the staff from Leone was delegated away from the operations department to a committee dealing with just the Opening Gala and this was not a smooth transition.

As for manuals of procedures they do not exist. There are no templates anywhere in the organization. The volunteers communicate in whatever manner they wish with stakeholders in the community. There are also no lists of previous designers, interior designers or buyers, instead the new crop of volunteers has to go and seek out all of these suppliers from scratch.

Overall the meetings and organization of the teams are not coherent, and tasks often get missed because departments have tasks delegated, then re-delegated to another department and in the end no one ends up doing it.

4.1.3 Resources

Vancouver Fashion Week has minimal resources; they do not have a stage, a crew to construct it, or basic supplies such as lighting or mirrors for the shows. The entire organization runs of manual labour which experiences high turnover and a lack of cohesion. They have few sponsors, and therefore, a very low budget. Expenses are cut

immediately as Jamal only wants pro-bono services and anyone who asks for funding to cover expenses is dropped from the organization.

4.1.4 Strategy

Overall, there is no strategy for the organization, when asked what the goals for the upcoming Fashion Week for Jamal was he stated: “to make money, have fun and travel”. Eventually he elaborated that he wanted it to be more upscale, and have it at the upscale venue at the Terminal Club. It seems that the strategy changes every season to whatever is available. There is not a coherent vision of the organization. As previously discussed a Fashion Week needs to be unique and memorable in order to be visited and successful. This appears to be missing from this organization. The venue is picked by

Jamal and from there the volunteers just make whatever they can happen. A recommendation is to make it a fun party week the way they did the Closing Gala. This

Gala was sold out with a line-up around the block if these types of evenings occurred for the Vancouver Fashion Week; it could be the gimmick the show needs to succeed.

4.2 Conclusion

Thus far the organization has been identified as having a myriad of problems most of which stem from the lack of funding for operations. This organization is controlled by one person who is not willing to compromise on the visions he has for what Vancouver

Fashion Week should accomplish. The organization follows a low cost strategy but it really does not formulate it ahead of time. Instead it is a follower of trends and just keeps up with the external environment. In the following section recommendations will be made for the organization and new strategic options will be examined.

5: Recommended Strategy

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the strategy that Vancouver Fashion

Week can employ. In this section the possible courses of action for Vancouver Fashion

Week will be recommended. These courses of action are suggested following the analysis of the Five Forces Model by Michael Porter and the determined Key Success Factors that have been identified for the organization; namely the new designer showcase and the after-parties. In addition the organization‟s internal capabilities have been identified and will be revisited when recommending a strategy so that their capabilities and strategy are aligned. This will be exemplified by the use of a strategic grid wherein changes that should be made will be recommended and movement of strategy will be visible in the grid itself.

5.1 Possible course of action

This organization needs to focus on developing clear and attainable goals. It needs to study its Product market Focus, and derive its value proposition and competitive advantage. If there were no Diamond analysis taking into account the managerial preference of the organization the first recommendation for the organization would be to sell it. At the current state it does not have long-term staying power. There is a deeply entrenched thinking exhibited by the current owner and producer which is hampering the expansion of the organization. VFW is consistently plagued by the lack of budget and inexperience. In addition, it seems that its poor reputation follows it in all efforts that it makes, thus new ownership would be able to take the name and concept but revamp the

organization. One of the likely contenders for the purchase would be the Fashion Design

Council of Canada (FDCC) currently running the Toronto Fashion Week. They have grown the Toronto event into the second largest Fashion Week in North America, and their expertise would likely benefit the Vancouver Fashion Week. By running two of

Canada‟s Fashion Weeks the Council would be able to leverage their expertise and create two kinds of shows that would not be competition for each other. They could do this by showcasing the designers in Toronto and then offering them a discounted rate to showcase in Vancouver. Alternatively, they could come up with concepts for the

Vancouver Fashion Week wherein they only highlight certain kinds of styles or certain kinds of designers. FDCC could then leverage their contacts to ensure media publicity and attendance. However, Jamal views Vancouver Fashion Week as his baby and believes no one is able to manage it better. The likelihood of him either selling VFW or ceding control are very low. It is unlikely that he would bring in a professional team to manage the week. It is strongly recommended to seek the experience of IMG in managing the fashion week for they have extensive experience in this field.

Partnering with IMG has proven to be very beneficial for the LG Fashion Week, for instance. It would be beneficial to examine how the LG Fashion Week moved from the tertiary market to the secondary market as a possible strategic model for VFW to follow.

The secondary market includes those Fashion Weeks that generate buzz, including Miami Swim for the party atmosphere and the showcase of hot models. Also,

Sao Paolo has also received much coverage and attention with its latest line up of shows.

Moving from the tertiary market to the secondary market is a movement made by

Toronto Fashion Week, which after acquiring the sponsor LG has become an event that is a “must attend”. They have accomplished this through much planning and promotions.

They have partnered with Bravo‟s Project Runway hosted by Heidi Klum, to give spots in the Fashion Week. In fact, these aspiring designers got taken to LG‟s Fashion Week as a prize one week, and the entire episode was devoted to getting to go, and then showcasing the goings on of the show. LG has a dedicated team in place that includes industry professionals who work with the fashion personnel in order to create a unique and profitable event. They see the partnership as being a cross promotional tool that will enhance their brand image. This was stated by Andrew Barrett, Vice President,

Marketing, LG Electronics Canada.

“Working with the FDCC over the past year has been a pleasure, and we‟re ecstatic about continuing and strengthening this relationship through our new role as title sponsor. At LG we are committed to aligning our brand with style and fashion, and I don‟t think there‟s a more appropriate or high profile avenue to do this than by branding Toronto‟s premier fashion event, LG Fashion Week presented by L‟Oréal Paris.”35

One other key to their success is the talented personnel they have on board, seasoned industry professionals including their Executive Director Robin Kay, President of Fashion Design Council of Canada and Executive Director of the Toronto LG Fashion

Week. This upcoming fall (2009) will be the 10 year anniversary of the Fashion Design

Council of Canada and they will also play host to the twentieth Fashion Week in Toronto.

The partnership has increased visibility of both organizations, and propelled Toronto

Fashion Week to become the industry leader in Canada. In addition, LG Fashion Week

35 http://www.cosmoworlds.com/fashion_weeks/lg_fashion_week-02032009.htm

quickly became the second largest Fashion Week in North America (second to New

York.) One excerpt below states this:

“Mississauga, Dec, 2008 – Hot on the heels of its first major foray into the Canadian fashion scene, LG Canada (LG) has officially announced its continued commitment to the industry as it becomes title sponsor of Toronto‟s Fashion Week, beginning in 2009. LG Canada looks forward to working with the incumbent title sponsor L‟Oréal Paris, as the exclusive beauty partner and presenting sponsor.”36 It should also be noted that IMG was retained as well for the shows “Today‟s announcement marks one of many significant growth strategies for the biannual fashion week events, including the addition of IMG Sports & Entertainment Canada as the events‟ exclusive partner for sponsorship, sales and client services.”37

“Canada is truly lucky to have such prestigious, well respected and knowledgeable brands, such as LG Canada and L‟Oréal Paris.” said Brad Pelletier, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, IMG. “We‟ve seen what kinds of amazing things can happen when great partners such as these work together, and foresee a phenomenal road ahead.”38

IMG Sports & Entertainment Canada, a subsidiary of IMG World, will act as the exclusive sponsorship and sales management company for the FDCC, playing a key role in client services for the week. IMG who manages 22 of the Fashion Weeks around the world will now be acting as the exclusive sales management and sponsorship company for FDCC and for the LG Fashion Week, playing a key role in client services. This will increase the international presence of the week, and the scope of the partners. As Chuck

Bennett, Senior Corporate Vice President, IMG said: “We see phenomenal potential with

36 http://www.cosmoworlds.com/fashion_weeks/lg_fashion_week-02032009.htm

37 ibid 38 ibid

LG Fashion Week presented by L‟Oréal Paris, and can‟t wait to work on the spring shows with LG Canada, L‟Oréal Paris and the FDCC,”39

This type of partnership with the FDCC and IMG Canada would be the first recommendation for Vancouver Fashion Week. Unfortunately, due to the management preference held by Jamal wherein he wants strict control of the organization, this partnership is unlikely. Therefore, other incremental recommendations will be suggested that can improve the status and performance of the Organization.

5.2 Evaluation of Strategy

First, the organization needs to identify where it is currently.

Table 3 – Crisis Curve

39 ibid 40 Readiness for Change and Strategic Capability: P.205 Strategic Analysis and Action Text: Crossan, Fly, Killing adapted from Figure 10.2 Urgency for Action.

Crossan, Fry and Killing use the Crisis Curve as a tool for identifying the urgency for action within an organization. This curve is divided into three categories: anticipatory change, reactive change and crisis change. In the first category, anticipatory change the management of the organization acts in anticipation of future events that can affect the organization. In the second stage, reactive change, the organization‟s management reacts to current environmental pressures. Lastly in the crisis stage the management realizes that the performance of the organization is deteriorating at an accelerated pace. Vancouver

Fashion Week as an organization is in the latter stages of reactive change, it is likewise heading towards crisis change.

Prevailing conditions in this organization indicate that there is a need for strategic change, and no longer just putting together a show. This is evidenced by the organization hiring its staff months before the event, as opposed to its prior practice of hiring six weeks before the show. The strategic performance of this organization is between sliding and critical it is conceivable that in a few years the show may just fail to attract audiences and sponsors if it continues on a current path. This has been realized by Jamal as he has begun to make changes due to time pressures. There is mixed commitment for change, he is reluctant to give up control of the show, but he realizes he needs help an additional staff. This staff has a mixed management capacity. Some of the volunteers are very talented but due to the labour relations within the Organization they leave, while others are just there because they are looking to add on to their resume.

There are management issues that the organization needs to address, and a question of “where to start?” may be posed in terms of strategy. In terms of the organization there is a lack of commitment by staff who leave, but those that stay do want

to make the event better, and Jamal is the biggest obstacle to change and new ideas within the organization.

5.3 Strategic Grid Revisited

In the second chapter of this paper the strategic grid was introduced outlining the strategy of the organization. At this point some recommendations can be made that incorporate changes that should be made to help the organization chart a strategic course.

Generic Strategy Cost Based Differentiation Low cost/Adequate Quality High Quality/Adequate Cost

Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Product Strategy Rapid → Innovator Follower R&D Expenses Low R&D → High R&D Structure Centralized → Decentralized Decision Low → Autonomy Making Autonomy Manufacturing Economies Economies of of Scale Scope/Flexible Labour Mass → Highly Production Skilled/Flexible Marketing Comparative → High Cost Push Pioneering/Pull Risk Profile Low-Risk High-Risk

Capital Structure Leveraged Conservative

Table 4 – Key Success Factors Revisited

5.3.1 Product Strategy

It is recommended that Vancouver Fashion Week remain a low cost producer, but they should invest more time and money into it. They do not have the capacity or the

organizational leadership to compete with large-scale shows like New York Fashion

Week. Vancouver itself is not considered a Mecca of fashion internationally and it is therefore for the best that they just put on shows that can attract local audiences. The demographics of Vancouver include many environmentally conscious persons. In addition, there are a lot of pet owners in the city. Lastly, there are several design schools in Vancouver including Blanche McDonald, Vancouver Community College and John

Casablanca‟s. This may be something that can be incorporated into the strategy of the organization, to have new upcoming designers showcase at the Vancouver Fashion

Week. They can also be the first to have a pet fashion show (as there are boutiques in

Vancouver that specialize in it). Moreover, eco-designs could be featured in Vancouver as well. Portland has the market on Eco-designers, as they were the first to come up with the concept. However, by combining the three aspects (new designers, ecological designs and pet fashion) the company would not have to invest a lot of money to obtain them but it could offer products that are attractive enough to sustain the organization. In addition, it should capitalize on the parties that it promotes afterwards. Making announcements in between shows could do this. There could be a party atmosphere created with some music and lighting effects that would make the shows more fun, and reduce the time spent just waiting around.

5.3.2 R & D Expenses

There should be a team put in place to deal with designers exclusively. This team should go and talk to the design schools in Vancouver to solicit talent that could benefit

Vancouver Fashion Week in the future. These new designers may not be ready to showcase as soon as they graduate but if they are aware of Vancouver Fashion Week as

an event to gain more exposure once they are more established they can return and display their collections. In addition, this team should look on fashion blogs and television to identify the upcoming seasons. They should then distribute their findings amongst the rest of the staff. This team should be on the cutting edge of fashion and always trying to contact new designers in order to improve the show.

5.3.3 Structure

One of the key elements to an organization‟s success is the people that work for it.

In fact, even Dr. W. Edwards Deming viewed as an operations guru, advocates keeping workers happy in his 14 points. A few of the key points are outlined below:

 “Institute training on the job.

 Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to help people and

machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of

an overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.

 Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.

 Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and

production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that

may be encountered with the product or service.”41

From the start, the organization failed to do the most basic thing for their volunteers, train them well. Each employee should receive one to three days of training regarding his or her respective duties. Volunteers should be given templates for all their

41 http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/process/Deming.html

communication, and a list of all the previous stakeholders (including designers, buyers, and sponsorship partners). Also as an Organization, they should identify the areas they would like to do better in, and work on them. In regards to leadership, there currently is one leader making decisions on a whim – and whose word is law. The organization should be restructured; Jamal the Producer can act as CEO but he should pass along his ideas to the manager, and this management team needs to be instituted. There should be an Operations Manager, Marketing Manager, Commerce Manager, Finance Manager,

Sponsorship Manager, and Design Manager.

Figure 2 - Organizational Structure

Each of these “executives” must be compensated financially, ensuring they will do a good job and return to the company for the next season. Amongst the management team weekly meetings should be held to discuss where they stand in the production of the

Fashion Week. They should convey the details of these meetings, and the tasks assigned herein to the members of their team. With a manager in place, of each of the divisions that the company deals with it ensures that tasks are completed, and that each department is held accountable for those tasks. This way tasks will not be deferred to others and will instead be completed by one staff member. Each of the roles is defined below:

Role Description Operations Should ensure that the venues are booked, Manager and interior designers for those venues are hired. The responsibility of all logistics including transportation and accommodation for incoming media and designers is handled by this team. All venues should be handled by this team including the clubs for the after parties, and the logistics therein. Will work with Back of House, and Front of House teams (those that organize the seating and tickets are in Front of House, and Back of House organize the models, designers and makeup) Should act as a liaison between the teams. Marketing Should be in charge of all promotional Manager materials regarding the show. Should coordinate all communication with stakeholders including government officials. Commerce Should focus on generating commerce Manager within the show. This person should contact all potential buyers that could purchase collections from the designers. This role would work closely with the Finance Manager and Designer Manager. Finance Keeps a detailed account of all expenses and Manager revenues generated by organization. Sponsorship Should focus on generating sponsorship Manager revenue for the event. This can include on focusing on big ticket sponsors, those that would contribute

tens of thousands to the revenue, and smaller sponsors that will donate product or services to the show. Designer Works to secure the designers, and attempts Manager to secure big ticket designers that would attract spectators. Also to work with Back of House and Front of House team. Human Should recruit, interview and hire all Resource volunteers. Should staff volunteers in departments that need them, and coordinate with operations in order to staff the actual event with proper volunteers. Public Relations This team should exist to ensure that all stakeholders are kept happy. They should discuss relations with venue providers, designers, media and others to monitor and manage the reputation of the organization.

Table 5 - Vancouver Fashion Week and Organization

Once this team is in place, they should compile a employee handbook that will be given to each incoming volunteer (either electronically or by hard copy). This handbook should include the organizational chart; including the role each manager is responsible for. It should contain a list of previous and current stakeholders. There should be templates of previous communications, including press releases, reviews and photographs of previous shows. Since these Managers will be in charge of their teams and delegate proper tasks the fear that is currently experienced of the Producer and his demands, will be greatly reduced. Lastly, the teams can work together to anticipate any problems that may arise, or can shift personnel to areas that need more attention. This approach is advocated because it is unlikely that Vancouver Fashion Week will adopt anything other

than a volunteer structure, because frankly Jamal is too cheap to pay his staff; the likelihood of hiring professionals for all the roles required is very low.

5.3.4 Decision Making

Once the executives are in place the accountability for decisions made will be clear. There can be guidance that is usually adopted in centralized organizations wherein the decisions are made from the top down. However a degree of autonomy should also be instituted within the organization wherein the staff is able to exercise discretion and give feedback from the bottom up.

5.3.5 Labor

One key person that should be brought back to the organization is Shallom

Johnson she is the editor of Stylefinds a blog on the fashion scene. She has attended the

New York Fashion Week, and is currently a contestant for a fashion correspondent for

Holt Renfrew. She has a lot of experience in the industry of fashion and she was instrumental in recruiting designers for the Fall/Winter 2009 show. She and Jamal had a difference of opinion; Jamal thought Shallom was promoting her own agenda during the shows and Shallom was unhappy with the organization of the events and they decided to part ways. However, she is the only employee that has worked in two Fashion Weeks, and with the amount of experience she holds she should be brought back to the organization.

As for the rest of the volunteers, they should be more appreciated, and should be rewarded for their efforts. This can be done with free tickets to the shows, and through

special commendations such as thank you cards. Overall appreciation of tasks completed will keep the staff more motivated to work and stay in the organization.

5.3.6 Marketing

The organization needs to make itself known in the community one great way to do this is by advertising on the Skytrain. This needs to happen so that people going downtown can know this event is happening. The event is not publicized in an effective manner. Skytrain ads are a cost effective way to promote the event, for one vertical card in a Skytrain is $108 dollars. The signage above the passengers in the 11” x 35” is $41 dollars. Lastly, a Platform Static poster is $610. This last one is necessary at skytrain stations that are nearby the Fashion Week events, for this can direct them to the event.

Since these costs are reasonable they need to be used in the promotion of the event, and since Jamal is price sensitive he should talk to the advertising agency that handles the

Translink ads (Lamar Transit Advertising) to get the 50% off discount that is offered to

Community Events.

Television would increase the awareness of Vancouver Fashion Week. Each channel in Vancouver including Global TV, Joy-TV etc,42 all have community announcements displayed during the daytime and evening for viewers advising them of events that are occurring that week/month. Most require only four weeks notice to broadcast and complete information about the event. Currently, the VFW organization could advise them of the upcoming shows and ask them to make announcements on the

42 http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.php?url=http%3A//www.broadcasting- history.ca/listings_and_histories/television/histories.php%3Fid%3D60%26historyID% 3D57

community segments that air during commercial breaks. This would also serve the additional purpose of making the networks aware of the events, and would give the VFW

Organization the opportunity to give press passes to the networks in hopes of additional coverage.

In terms of the event itself, the suggestion is made to make the Vancouver

Fashion Week a party week another fun idea would be to hold a Model Auction for charity, wherein the prize is having a model accompany you to an after-party (that will include free tickets and a free drink). More fun promotional events could include running a contest to have a person from the readership of the Metro or 24 Hours become a model for a day. This can be accomplished by and having a contest wherein people submit their plain pictures and ask to be models in the show, then have Reader‟s Choice pick who will model in a show, this would include make-up, hair and the outfit for keeps. The full experience, documented with photos would run in the paper the next day.

In addition to partnering with newspapers and television the Organization can partner with radio shows to give away tickets. The Beat 94.5 always has a call in give- away in each segment and complementary tickets to Fashion Week would be a great prize and something people would really want to have if there was effective advertisement for the event.

Lastly, Street Teams could be deployed near the venues that will showcase the

Fashion Weeks: volunteers and models should have signage directing people to the venue, they can also hand out cards regarding the shows. Models can be walking around with a t-shirt stating “I‟m a model, ask me where”. All of these promotional tactics will publicize the event more effectively within the Vancouver community.

5.3.7 Risk Profile

Once the organization improves its reputation it will attract more sponsors, and more designers to the show. Then it will also reduce its risk. Thus this will improve once the above seven factors are addressed.

5.3.8 Capital Structure

Currently the capital structure of the organization is unknown and that is in addition to the funds that are spent and earned by the organization. A creation of a budget is imperative for the organization.

Based on Vancouver Fashion Week‟s previously established Sponsorship

Guidelines that they have been using for several seasons wherein they have tiers of sponsorship the keynote sponsor contributing $25,000, the second largest sponsorship value being $15,000 and the tertiary sponsor contributing $10,000 one can derive at a budget for the organization. It is assumed that with a proper team in place the sponsorships for each of those values can be obtained. (However there is a contingency explained in the budget should these figures not be met.) If the organization is unable to achieve the $60,000 sponsorship level forecasted in this budget, they could still run the show effectively if they have $25,000 in sponsorship.

Revenues

Title Sponsor $25,000.00 Secondary Sponsor 15,000 Third Sponsor 10,000 Small Sponsors 10,000 Entry Fee for Designers 21,875 Ticket Sales 5,000 After Party Revenue 5,000

Total $91,875.00

Expenses

Staffing and Administrative $16,000.00 Accommodation for Media 10,000 Venue Rental 5,000 Supplies / Rentals 2,000 Stage Construction / Rental 3,000 Designer Fees 5,000 Miscellaneous Costs 5,000

Total $46,000.00

Potential Additional $50 * 200 = Revenue $10,000 This potential revenue is for the Closing Gala at $50/ticket and with 200 guests.

The above figures are what can be seen as attainable by the organization. If they fail to meet the sponsorship revenue, there is such a difference between revenue and expenses that they could still afford to run the show in the black.

Figure 3 - Budget Forecast

One of the biggest complaints about the current shows is the low production value, this budget allows for the correction of that situation, for therein there are expenses allocated to the construction of a stage, reimbursement to the designers and provision for supplies. In addition, a $5000 miscellaneous cost budget will ensure that it acts as a cushion for any addition expenses that are incurred. It is possible for the organization to achieve all three levels of sponsorship. This coupled with the revenue from designer fees

(This year they were $875 for 25 designers) and the tickets sold would amount to

$91,875. Expenses would begin with the salaries of the “Executives” that have been recommended to be hired to effectively improve the operations of the organization. If

VFW expects better media coverage, it needs to ensure that their hotel expenses and flights are covered. Since some networks will pay for flights and accommodation of their reporters, this $10,000 budget will ensure there are ample funds for both large and small- scale media accommodation. The supplies budget was created for the organization to get what is needed for the show; a stage budget has also been established for it is crucial to have a runway for the models. Lastly, $5000 allocated for a professional design company to come in and design the space. A $5000 miscellaneous budget has been instituted should any costs run over or any unexpected costs arise that there is funding to cover them.

This in turn should create a Statement of Earnings as follows:

Revenue

Sales $31,875.00 Sponsorships 60,000 Total Revenue 91,875

Expenses Cost of Goods Sold 25,000 Administrative Expenses 16,000 Amortization Expense 0 Interest Expense 0 Other expenses 5,000 Total Expenses 46,000

Earnings Before Income Tax 45,875 Income Tax Expense 6,193

Net Earnings $39,682.00

Figure 4 - Pro-forma Statement of Earnings

The sales figure derived from the $10,000 in ticket sales for both the fashion shows and the after-parties, added to the revenue derived from the designer entry fees, coupled with the sponsorship revenue. For the expenses, the Cost of Goods Sold includes accommodations, supplies, stage construction and designer fees. Administrative expenses are $16,000 and the miscellaneous expenses make up the “Other” for $5,000. This ensures net earnings of $39,682. This amount of earnings is higher than the current, low budget show earnings. However, using this proposed budget the production quality is better; there are funds to cover expenses and close to $40,000 can go back into the organization.

5.4 Other Recommendations

1) Lists of this should be kept of all suppliers and what the relationships are

between agencies

2) There should be staff hired for each of the key areas:

a. Public Relations / Marketing

b. Designers

c. Operations / Staffing

d. Sponsorship

e. Finance

These staff members should monitor the incoming volunteers and so to say “show them the ropes”.

3) The public relations / marketing personnel need to advise media about the

event several months prior and ensure that the week be well-attended and

well-covered. They also need to ensure that the relationships between venue

suppliers and the organization are cordial. More relationships need to be built

with key stakeholders such as city officials, police officers, fashion merchants

and the general public.

4) Designers: more quality designers need to be on board, big names such as

William Rast, Versace, Gucci and Channel can all be included. Vancouver has

plenty of luxury boutiques and none of them participate in the show. These

shows need to be organized to gain more exposure for VFW and the boutiques

in the city. In terms of smaller designers they need to be included in the shows

at well and there should be at least 30 designers that attract guests. These

designers should be showcased not just on runways but they should also do

press circuits, sneak previews, and events where the public can mingle with

the company. For instance, there could be an after-party put on by Marciano

and it can be called the “Marciano Mingle”. More staff is required to make

sure these designers come on board.

5) There was a lot of disorganization because small teams were given large tasks

and they did not communicate amongst each other. Jamal would delegate

tasks to these teams and sometimes these tasks would overlap at other times

tasks would not be complete. There was generally poor communication

amongst the team and most of the time no one knew what everyone else was

doing.

6) Sponsorship needs to be massively increased. This year the largest sponsor

was Cosmetology Industry Association of British Columbia and they paid

$15,000 for the event. There needs to be a large headlining sponsor who pays

double the fee for sponsorship. Overall, the organization could surpass

$100,000 in sponsorship and put on a large event that is well-attended.

7) There needs to be accountability for where the money goes, this year there

was no accountant, and therefore it is impossible to know whether the event

was profitable and what the generators of revenue were. Considering there

were few expenses the event should have been profitable but there is no

transparency in the organization. In terms of finances there should be

administrative and salary expenses that should be paid as well.

8) This year the Vancouver Fashion Week is running concurrently to the LG

Fashion Week in Toronto. Since this latter Fashion Week is the second largest

in North America, it is likely that all of the media will be focusing on this

event. Prominent designers will be displaying their fashions at Toronto as

well, and those who are interested in attending will likely go to Toronto as the

organization has made tickets available to the public. Running the two shows

concurrently is a very bad strategy by VFW, and the decision for the timing

was made by Jamal. This will likely hamper the efforts made by volunteers to

make the week a success for it will be overshadowed by its much bigger and

better competitor to the East. In the future running these two weeks

concurrently should be strictly avoided.

9) Company should consider expanding into other events such as trade shows.

There needs to be a branching out of events. In order to do this reputation

must be cultivated and permanent staff hired that can coordinate events and

volunteers for upcoming events. If the company does not present itself as

professional and able to work within tight deadlines it will not be hired and

the bad reputation will continue to follow it.

10) Connections with Nettwerk, the music company should be utilized. Promoters

can even ensure that there could be a free show for the general public. This

show should “Kicking off” fashion week and can either be a general

admission in a big place with a sweepstakes ( win tickets to the event) by sign

up for email or partnering with a local radio station.

6: Conclusion

Overall Vancouver Fashion Week currently faces a myriad of problems that if left unaddressed could potentially run the business into the ground. Most of the problems centre on the inexperience and high turnover of staff, the lack of transparency in the funding of the organization, and centralized control by its producer, Jamal. It is imperative that he adopts the recommendations outlined in this paper including: structuring the staff, improving community relations and awareness and avoiding direct competition with the larger and more established LG Fashion Week in Toronto.

Appendices

Appendix A – Cities with Fashion Weeks

City Name Date established

Amsterdam Amsterdam 2004 International Fashion Weeks

Asunción Asunción Fashion 2003 Week

Athens Hellenic Fashion 2000 Week

Atlanta Haute-lanta Fashion 2006 Week

Auckland New Zealand 2001 Fashion Week

Baltimore Baltimore's Fashion 2008 Week

Bangkok Bangkok Fashion 2005 Week

Barcelona Barcelona Fashion 1981 Week (Known as Pasarela Gaudí until 2001)

Belgrade Belgrade Fashion 1996 Week

Bellevue, Washington Bellvue Fashion 2007 Week

Berlin Berlin Fashion Week

Boston Boston Fashion Week 1995

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires 2008 Fashion Week

Cape Town Cape Town Fashion 2003 Week

Charleston Charleston Fashion 2007 Week

Chicago Chicago Fashion Week

Cleveland Fashion Week 2002 Cleveland

Columbus, Ohio Columbus Fashion 2007 Week

Copenhagen Copenhagen 1964 Fashion Week (Unknown in its current form)

Cyprus Cyprus Fashion 2008 Week

Dar es Salaam Swahili Fashion Week 2008

Dubai Dubai Fashion 2006 Week

Dublin Dublin Fashion Week

Fort Lauderdale FTL MODA 2007

Hong Kong Hong Kong Fashion 1968 Week

Jakarta Jakarta Fashion Week 2008

Johannesburg Joburg Fashion 2007 Week

Kansas City, MO Glance Fashion 2009 Week KC

Kenya Kenya Fashion 2005 Week

Kiev Ukrainian Fashion 1997 Week

Kingston Caribbean Fashion Started Week November 2001 (Now held in June)

Kobe Kobe Fashion Week Started from 2006 A/W collection

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Fashion 2007-2008 Week

Lahore Pakistan Fashion 2007 Week

Lagos Nigerian Fashion 2007 Week

Las Vegas Las Vegas Fashion 2009 Week

Lisbon Moda 1994 Lisboa/Lisbon Fashion Week

Liverpool Liverpool Fashion 2008 Week

London London Fashion 1961 (1993 Week in its current form)

Los Angeles Los Angeles Fashion 2003 Week

Łódź Fashion Week 2009 Poland

Madrid Madrid Fashion 1963 Week

Mallorca Mallorca Fashion 2009 Week

Manila Philippine Fashion 1997 Week

Melbourne L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival

Mexico City Fashion Week 1998 Mexico

Miami Funkshion: Fashion 1998 Week Miami Beach

Miami Fashion 1998 Week

Mercedes-Benz 1998 Fashion Week Miami

Milan Montréal Montréal Fashion Week

Moscow Fashion Week in 1994 (2003 Moscow in its current form)

Russian Fashion 2001 Week

Mumbai Mumbai Fashion 2001 Week

Nashville Music City Fashion 2008 Week

New Delhi Delhi Fashion 2008 Week

India Fashion Week 2000

New York City New York Fashion 1943 (1993 Week in its current form)

Oslo Oslo Fashion Week 2004

Ottawa Ottawa Fashion 2008 in its Week current form

Paris Paris Fashion Week 1973 in its current form

Philadelphia Philadelphia 2003 Fashion Week

Phoenix Phoenix Fashion 2004 Week - separated from Scottsdale Fashion Week

Portland Portland Fashion 2003 Week

Prague Prague Fashion 2002 Week

Reykjavík Iceland Fashion 2000 Week

Rio de Janeiro Fashion Rio

Rome Rome Fashion Week

Sacramento Sacramento Fashion 2008 Week

San Francisco San Francisco 2004 Fashion Week

Santiago Santiago Fashion 2006 Week

São Paulo São Paulo Fashion 1995 Week

Sarajevo Sarajevo Fashion Weeks - two rival events

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale Fashion 2005 Week

Singapore Singapore Fashion 1987 Week.

Seattle Seattle Fashion Week 2003

Seoul Seoul Fashion Week

Shanghai Shanghai Fashion Week

Sydney Australian Fashion 1995 Week

St. Louis St. Louis Fashion Week

Stockholm Stockholm Fashion 1995 Week

Tashkent Tashkent Fashion 2006 Week

Tehran 2006 Tirana Albania Fashion 2007 Week

Toronto LG Fashion Week 2009

Tokyo Japan Fashion Week 1985 (2005 in its current form)

Trinidad and Tobago Fashion Week 2008 Trinidad and Tobago

Ulan Bator Goyol 1988

Vancouver Vancouver Fashion 2001 Week

British Columbia 2004 Fashion Week

Warsaw Warsaw Fashion 1996 Street

Zagreb Zagreb Fashion 2003 Week

Table 6 – International Fashion Weeks

100

Appendix B – Events Managed by IMG

January:

(1/17/2009-1/21/2009): Milan Fashion Week-Milano Moda Uomo" "(1/28/2009-2/1/2009): Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin" February: (2/13/2009-2/20/2009 1:00:00 AM): Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York" "(2/20/2009-2/25/2009): London Fashion Week" "(2/25/2009-3/4/2009): Milan Fashion Week-Moda Donna"

March:

"(3/5/2009-3/12/2009): Paris Fashion Week" "(3/16/2009-3/21/2009): LG Fashion Week Beauty by L'Oreal Paris" "(3/21/2009 1:00:00 AM-3/27/2009 1:00:00 AM): Volvo Fashion Week presented by VISA" "(3/23/2009-3/27/2009): Fashion Week Mexico" "(3/27/2009-3/31/2009): Lakme Fashion Week"

April:

"(4/27/2009-5/1/2009): Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring Summer Collections"

May:

June:

6/20/2009-6/24/2009): Milano Moda Uomo" "(6/20/2009-6/24/2009): Milan Fashion Week – Moda Uomo"

July:

"(7/1/2009-7/4/2009): Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin"43 "(7/6/2009-7/9/2009): Paris Fashion Week--Haute Couture" "(7/15/2009-7/19/2009): Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim"

August:

(8/24/2009-8/29/2009): MasterCard Luxury Week Hong Kong"

43 http://www.imgworld.com/entertainment/fashion/default.sps

101

September:

"(9/10/2009-9/17/2009): Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York" "(9/23/2009-9/30/2009): Milan Fashion Week-Milano Moda Donna"

October:

"(10/1/2009-10/8/2009): Paris Fashion Week"

November:

No events scheduled

December:

No events scheduled

January:

"(1/28/2010-1/31/2010): Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin"

102

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